TNAG-2487-FCO40-3618-Future-relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-China-1992 — Page 181

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(b)

(c)

The Commission

the

suggests

that the power of interpreting the Basic Law in its application to Special Administrative Region and the power of deciding whether existing laws contravene the Basic Law should be transferred from the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress to the

local courts

Basic Law).

(see Articles 18, 158 and 160 of the

This recommendation is, of course, based on the argument that the Joint Declaration

provides that Hong Kong Special Administrative

Region courts will have the power of final judgment. But it is important to understand that

that power is only a power to render final judgment in matters where the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region courts have jurisdiction.

It does not confer unrestricted jurisdiction.

These provisions as they stand, however, do leave

some doubt as to how, in practice, they will be

applied but some comfort can be taken from the

comments of Lu Ping in his address to Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce on 26 April 1989 that

the Standing Committee "will restrict itself to

interpreting only the

responsibility of the

provisions which are the

Central Government or the

relationship between the Central Authorities and the Special Administrative Region".

On page 83 the Commission is strongly critical of the Standing Committee's power to decide that the Special Administrative Region is in a state of

emergency and apply national laws. However, no state could be expected to renounce the power to

take steps to defend itself or to deal with

"turmoil" which endangers national unity or

security.