TNAG-1983-FCO40-2816-Presentation-of-UK-policy-on-Hong-Kong-to-the-media-1989 — Page 49

Other areas of potential difficulty include:

the provisions in the draft which prescribe the economic and fiscal policies to be adopted by the future SAR Government (which could be said to undermine the high degree of autonomy which it is to enjoy in this area);

the Article (19) in the revised draft which defines the jurisdiction of the SAR Courts was not approved by the BLDC. The declared intention of the relevant Article is to ensure that the Courts have independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication, subject to existing restrictions (which also restrict the High Court here where matters of international elections are concerned). The problem lies in defining common law concepts in terms which are understandable under the Chinese systemn. The Chairman of the BLDC has specifically identified this Article as one which requires further study;

the chapter on fundamental rights in the revised draft does not provide for such rights to be enjoyed by all persons in the Hong Kong SAR but only to Hong Kong residents. It may be necessary to enact a fundamental rights law in Hong Kong.

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