TNAG-2175-FCO40-3112-Hong-Kong-Bill-of-Rights-1990 — Page 334

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15

15

32.

that

The Bar Association and Law Society have suggested protection of rights against private individuals should be achieved primarily by way of specific legislation. The LegCo Ad Hoc Group has recommended that the BOR should not impose obligations on private individuals for the time being. We agree in principle. The options appear to be :

(a)

(b)

(c)

Exclude individuals from the ambit of the BOR and confine its application to government and public authorities;

Exclude obligations between individuals in respect of specified articles, such as those dealing with privacy, right of information

and non-discrimination;

Defer commencement of obligations between individuals until

privacy, right

specific legislation

of

information

on

and

non-discrimination is ready; the BOR will then provide for the residual rights; and

(a) Defer commencement of obligations between individuals in respect of Articles 14 (privacy) and 16 (right of information) only.

33.

Options (a) and (b) are presentationally unattractive as they would undermine our stated intention that the BOR attempts to implement the ICCPR comprehensively.

The choice therefore rests between options (c) and (d). It should be noted that established effective remedies are already available in respect of most articles through statutory law and the common law, with the exception of the problematic ones mentioned in paragraph 31 above. Against this background, it could be argued that a general deferment on the commencement of obligations i.e. option (c) would remove all

between

individuals,

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