THE LEGAL SYSTEM
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been drafted, it is submitted to the Governor in Council for approval to submit it to the Legislative Council. If the bill is passed by vote of the Legislative Council, the Governor is empowered to enact it by giving his assent.
Until 1989, the laws of Hong Kong were published in a 32-volume compilation known as the Laws of Hong Kong. This was updated annually. A new loose-leaf edition of the Laws of Hong Kong is in the course of preparation. The new edition will be based upon the 1989 revised edition as amended by laws taking effect since and will be updated continuously. In addition, all new laws are published in the Hong Kong Government Gazette.
Hong Kong law has evolved in much the same way as the common law of England. English common law and rules of equity are applied in conjunction with local ordinances, and English or United Kingdom Acts where applicable. The Hong Kong courts apply a doctrine of binding precedent similar to that used by the English courts. The Hong Kong Court of Appeal is bound by its own previous decisions. Appeal from the Court of Appeal lies to the Privy Council, and it was held by the Hong Kong Court of Appeal in 1973 that any relevant decision of the Privy Council is binding on the Hong Kong courts.
The Attorney General's Chambers has assumed responsibility for drafting new legislation in both Chinese and English, and translating existing legislation into Chinese. Both the Chinese and English texts will be authentic versions of the laws to which the courts can look for the purpose of interpreting and applying the law. The first piece of _bilingual new legislation was enacted on April 13, 1989. Since then, all new principal legislation has been enacted bilingually. Concerning the translation of existing laws, a committee known as the Bilingual Laws Advisory Committee was set up by government in October 1988 to advise on the publication of Chinese texts of existing ordinances. The committee examines Chinese texts prepared by the Law Drafting Division of the Attorney General's Chambers. If it approves, it recommends the Governor in Council to declare these texts an authentic version of the laws. Some 520 ordinances remain to be translated or authenticated.
Bill of Rights
In Hong Kong, the basic social and political freedoms that people enjoy have always been taken for granted. Since 1976, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) have been extended to Hong Kong. The Joint Declaration guarantees that the provisions of the two covenants as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force after 1997.
Until recently, the provisions of the ICCPR, like those of the ICESCR, were implemented in Hong Kong through a combination of common law, legislation and administrative measures. In view of the strong support in the community for the basic civil and political rights to be embodied in a justiciable Bill of Rights, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance which gave effect in local law to the relevant provisions of the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong was enacted on June 6, 1991. This means that if anyone believes that their civil or political rights, as defined in the covenant, have been violated or are threatened to be violated, they are able to seek redress in the courts. The ordinance came into operation on June 8, 1991. It binds the government and all public authorities. Six ordinances have been exempted from the operation of the Bill of Rights for one year to avoid disruption of operations in vital areas in the event of findings by the court that provisions of any of these laws are inconsistent with the Bill of Rights and therefore