TNAG-1984-FCO40-2817-Presentation-of-UK-policy-on-Hong-Kong-to-the-media-1989 — Page 55

9.

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 system. 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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