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the other hand, there were internal entrenchment of
the Bill of Rights a Hong Kong court could say that
the repressive measure was not law for reasons purely
internal to Hong Kong and that would be the end of the
matter.
The Need for an Amendment Procedure
3.
It may be felt that any recognition of a means
to amend the bill, however difficult those means may
be made, is wrong in principle and in appearance. But that is really inconsistent with other legal systems. Normally any law, no matter how important, is changeable in some fashion. Even the U.S. Bill of Rights, probably the oldest constitutionally entrenched human rights
instrument in the world, is subject to change by the
procedures of constitutional amendment.
4.
Further, changes would not necessarily be of a negative nature. For example, if we incorporate in the Bill of Rights the U.K. reservations to the ICCPR, it may be possible some day to remove them, The ICCPR itself is always subject to change, given sufficient international consensus, and this would probably be
in the direction of enhancing rights.
5.
Assuming, in either of these cases, acquiescence
by the PRC in such a question of foreign relations, it should be possible to amend the Bill to enlarge upon
the rights it protects.
Possible Entrenchment Techniques
6.
The preferred method of entrenchment would probably be a requirement of a special majority (e.g. two-thirds) to amend the Bill of Rights. It appears, however, that this is precluded by article 74 of the BL which in effect states that the normal rule for LegCo
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