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32.
As recently as 1987 the European Court considered an
application from a homosexual in the Republic of Ireland who
contested the constitutionality of legislation prohibiting
homosexual activities (23). The court held that the penal
prohibition of adult homosexual activities, constituted an
unnecessary interference with the applicant's private life and
was in breach of the Convention.
33.
The Law Reform Commission surveyed ten Asean
countries in preparing its report and found that in the
majority consensual homosexual acts between adult men in
private were not criminal offences (24). It is difficult to
draw conclusions from such international comparisons because
national laws reflect quite different social and legal
history.
However, it is interesting to note that Hong Kong's
law on homosexual offences reflects a British social and legal
tradition. In the People's Republic of China, homosexual acts
are not included in the criminal code. An indication of the
laws in various countries is at Appendix C.
1
Conclusion
34.
It is possible that the majority of Hong Kong people
consider homosexual behaviour to be immoral. However, it does
not follow that the present law should be retained although
this is clearly one option. The law does not and should not
prohibit everything considered by the majority to be immoral.
If it were to do so, a wide range of new offences would have
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