CONFIDENTIAL
is not inconsistent with the Basic Law; or to insert a
"subject to the Basic Law" provision as part of midnight
adaptation legislation on condition that the Bill is not
found contrary to the Basic Law.
(b) Clause 4: FCO Legal Advisers prefer the amended
version for legal reasons, whatever the Chinese view. is no public opinion disadvantage with this amendment.
There
(c) Title, preamble and clause 2(3): these amendments
are cosmetic and have little, if any, effect on the operative part of the Bill. We do not anticipate strong public reaction.
Inter-Citizen Rights
8.
The Hong Kong Government originally intended that the Bill should bind individuals as well as public authorities.
They have however now decided against this as a result of a great deal of pressure, particularly from the business
sector and some LegCo ad hoc group members, to exclude
inter-citizen rights from the Bill on the grounds that this would give rise to uncertainty in law. In international law, the ICCPR binds only the State. There is no legal
necessity for the Bill of Rights to cover anything other
than the rights of citizens vis-a-vis public authorities.
The ICCPR also, however, places an obligation on States to ensure the availability of effective remedies where
individual rights are violated by other private individuals. It is debatable whether existing Hong Kong law provides sufficiently comprehensive remedies. It may therefore be necessary for Hong Kong to enact further legislation to
provide inter-citizen remedies in certain specific areas of rights of privacy and non-discrimination. It will be important, however, that any such new legislation is
presented as desirable on its merits and not primarily in
TOMBBF/4
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.