TNAG-2320-FCO40-3364-Human-rights-in-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 155

entrench

its

provisions

in the

law

of Hong Kong.

The

"entrenchment" of those provisions depends solely

on the

political will of the PRC. That will is presently exhibited

in

Part

3

of the

Basic

Law.

principally important provision of that Part is article 39. be noted? 73

The most

But it must

that article 39 does not include Part 1 of the

International Covenants in which appear article 1 promising

that:

"All

peoples self-determination.

„bave

the

right

of

Whether, following 150 years of separate history, the people

of

Hong

international

Kong

are

a

"peoples"

for

this

purpose

of

law

International

is the subject of

74 Commission of

of Jurists.

a mission by the

In the

the context

of

the great world movement of peoples, which is such a feature

of international society today, much research has been done

75

The this purpose. of "peoples" for

on the

definition of

claims of stateless peoples, such as the Kurds and

Palestinians, or peoples within an existing State, such as

the Croats, Estonians and Punjabis is a subject of much

international debate amongst scholars.76 It is a debate

which, at least in respect of Tibet and Hong Kong reaches the

peoples of China itself.

The importance of this debate for present purposes is

that all Bills of Rights must operate in a constitutional

framework which contemplates that the several rights will

contribute, in a coherent way, to a generally accepted form

of society.

Whether by express provision (as in the Canadian

case) or by implication of the constitution (as in the United

States) courts construe the detailed and precise provisions

35 -