ENG-2001 — Page 68

CHAPTER 3

The Legal System

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THE legal system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is firmly based on the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary. Under the principle of 'one country, two systems', the HKSAR's legal system is different from that of the Mainland, and is based on the common law.

The constitutional framework for the legal system is provided for, at the international level, by the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which was signed in December 1984. It is provided at the domestic level by the Basic Law - a law enacted by the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) under Article 31 of the Chinese Constitution. Both documents guarantee the continuance of the legal system that was in place before China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997.

The first four years after the resumption demonstrated that Hong Kong's reunification with China was achieved smoothly, and that the legal system, the rule of law, human rights, and the independence of the Judiciary have been fully maintained and protected.

Continuation of the Legal System

A central theme of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law is one of continuity. Common law principles, and nearly all the 600-odd ordinances that were in force before July 1, 1997, continue to apply in the HKSAR.

The ordinances require adaptation to bring them into line with the Basic Law and to reflect Hong Kong's new status as a Special Administrative Region of the PRC, This exercise is divided into two stages. The first stage was initiated in February 1997 by the Standing Committee of the NPC which laid down certain general principles of interpretation. These general principles provided, for example, that all references to the 'Governor' shall be construed as references to the 'Chief Executive'. The principles of interpretation were incorporated into the HKSAR's domestic law by means of the Hong Kong Reunification Ordinance in July 1997.

In the second stage, the Government has introduced a series of bills that makes the necessary textual amendments to ordinances. As at October 2001, 51 ordinances have been enacted to deal with the necessary textual amendments to 514 ordinances. The ordinances that have not yet been adapted require further deliberations on both the legal and policy issues involved.

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