ENG-1998 — Page 66

THE LEGAL SYSTEM

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The continuity of the judicial system was achieved by the re-establishment of all courts and tribunals that were previously in existence (though some were renamed) and by the establishment on July 1, 1997, of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal which replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal. All judges who were in service immediately before the reunification were re-appointed by the Chief Executive. These re-appointments were made in accordance with the recommendations of an independent commission the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. All judicial proceedings which were instituted before the resumption of sovereignty were continued by virtue of the Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance.

Law in the HKSAR

The laws in force in the HKSAR are:

(1) the Basic Law,

(2) national laws listed in, or added to, Annex III to the Basic Law,

(3) the laws in force before July 1, 1997, that were adopted as laws of the HKSAR

by the Standing Committee of the NPC, and

(4) laws enacted by the legislature of the HKSAR (known as Ordinances).

National laws relating to defence and foreign affairs as well as other matters outside the limits of the autonomy of the HKSAR may be applied locally by way of promulgation or legislation by the HKSAR. Currently, 10 national laws apply in the HKSAR.

All ordinances in force in the HKSAR are bilingual, and their Chinese and English texts are equally authentic. Those ordinances, and the subsidiary legislation made under them, are published in the loose-leaf edition of the Laws of Hong Kong and are accessible on the Internet at http://www.justice.gov.hk. All new legislation is published in the Government Gazette.

The Department of Justice is responsible for drafting legislation in both official languages. The Law Drafting Division of that department keeps a bilingual legal glossary in a database which has 30 000-odd entries. An English-Chinese glossary of legal and relevant terms appearing in legislation is published from time to time in booklet form. The third edition, containing about 30 000 entries, was published in September 1998. A Chinese-English Glossary of Legal Terms will be published in 1999.

Court challenges under the Basic Law

Since the Basic Law came into operation on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has, for the first time, a detailed written constitution, which is the most fundamental piece of legislation that the Hong Kong courts and judges have to apply, uphold and interpret. Litigants are able to base their arguments on provisions in the Basic Law, and challenge actions that they believe are inconsistent with them. The Basic Law has therefore created a new era of constitutional law in Hong Kong.

Several high-profile court challenges have related to the Basic Law, including one concerning the legality of the Provisional Legislative Council. The Court of Appeal in a landmark case in July 1997 unanimously held that the Provisional Legislative