3 THE LEGAL SYSTEM
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THE legal system in Hong Kong is firmly based on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China provide that the present judicial system will be maintained after 1997, except for those changes consequent upon the establishment of the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) in Hong Kong to replace the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council as Hong Kong's highest appellate court.
In June 1995, the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group reached an agreement on the establishment of the CFA in Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. This agreement ensures that there will be no judicial vacuum between the end of Hong Kong's right of appeal to the Privy Council and the establishment of the CFA in Hong Kong. To give effect to this agreement, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance was enacted, with the advice and consent of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, in August 1995. Work has begun on renovating the former French Mission Building in Central as the new CFA building and on the drafting of rules of procedure for the CFA.
The British Government has given an assurance that the Privy Council will retain its jurisdiction over cases from Hong Kong courts up to June 30, 1997, and that it will give priority to Hong Kong appeals in the months immediately before July 1997. Any unfinished appeals will be transferred from the Privy Council to the CFA. Discussions with the Privy Council regarding ways of ensuring the orderly transfer of any unfinished business to the CFA on July 1, 1997, are in progress.
The past year saw major developments in the area of human rights protection and legal aid services. Among these were the implementation of legislation against discrimination as well as the establishment of the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Legal Aid Services Council.
Law in Hong Kong
The Governor, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council, has the power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Hong Kong. Most legislation applicable in the territory is enacted in the form of ordinances or as subsidiary legislation made under an ordinance. These ordinances, together with the common law and rules of equity, are the main sources of law in Hong Kong.
The Attorney General's Chambers are responsible for drafting new legislation in both Chinese and English, and for translating legislation enacted in English only into Chinese. Both the Chinese and English texts are authentic texts of the laws. The first bilingual ordinance was enacted on April 13, 1989. Since then, all new principal