TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 1986
AG STRESSES MERITS OF COMMON LAW
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THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, MR MICHAEL THOMAS, TODAY STRESSED THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE COMMON LAW SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AND BUILT UPON BY THE HONG KONG COMMUNITY.
SPEAKING AT THE CLOSING BANQUET OF A SYMPOSIUM ON CHINESE AND EUROPEAN CONCEPTS OF LAW, MR THOMAS SAID THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG ARE RIGHT TO ATTACH IMPORTANCE TO THOSE PARTS OF THE JOINT DECLARATION WHICH PRESERVE THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE COMMON LAW.
HE SAID: +IN THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY YEARS DURING WHICH THIS TERRITORY HAS BEEN GOVERNED BY BRITAIN, THE COMMON LAW TRADITION HAS TAKEN ROOT AND FLOURISHED HERE. AT FIRST, WHEN HONG KONG WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A TRADING POST, THOSE WHO DID BUSINESS HERE BECAME FAMILIAR WITH THOSE AREAS OF MERCANTILE LAW WHICH HAD THEIR GOLDEN AGE IN ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
+IN THAT PERIOD, THE ENGLISH COURTS AND JURISTS DEVELOPED AND REFINED PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE LAWS OF TRADE, BANKING, INSURANCE AND SHIPPING WHICH TO THIS DAY UNDERPIN NEARLY ALL THE WORLD'S TRADE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF BRITAIN'S FORMER IMPERIAL INFLUENCE. AND DURING THE LAST FORTY YEARS, DURING WHICH HONG KONG HAS GROWN FROM A WAR STRICKEN AREA WITH A POPULATION OF 600 000 TO AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL CENTRE WITH A SUBSTANTIAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR AND A POPULATION OF 5-1/2 MILLION, ITS EXTRAORDINARY RECORD OF SUCCESS CAN IN THE SAME WAY BE ATTRIBUTED IN PART TO ITS LAWS AND ITS LEGAL SYSTEM.
+CAPITALISM IS NOT JUST AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM: IT IS BOUND UP WITH CONCEPTS OF LAW WHICH ARE ENTRENCHED IN THE TRADITION OF THE COMMON LAW, ITS EMPHASIS UPON INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL LIBERTY AND FREEDOM, ITS ACCEPTANCE OF LEGAL CORPORATE PERSONALITY WHEREBY INVESTMENT IS ENCOURAGED BY LIMITING THE RISK OF PERSONAL LOSS, ITS PROVISION FOR READY ACCESS TO COURTS OF LAW AND LEGAL REPRESENTATION SO THAT REMEDIES TO ENFORCE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS ARE READILY AVAILABLE.
+ALL THESE FEATURES OF THE COMMON LAW SYSTEM PROVIDED FERTILE GROUND FOR THE ENERGY, INVENTIVENESS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE WHO SETTLED IN HONG KONG.
+ THE SUCCESS OF HONG KONG IS FOUNDED UPON THE VALUES ENSHRINED IN THE COMMON LAW, UPON FREE ENTERPRISE AND FREE TRADE AND UPON THE FREEDOM OF INDIVIDUALS TO MOVE ABOUT, TO TRAVEL AND TO CHOOSE THEIR OCCUPATION AND HOW BEST TO DEVELOP THEIR INDIVIDUAL TALENTS.
/+AND THE
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