ENG-2005 — Page 63

The Legal System | 37

Director of Intellectual Property

The post of Director of Intellectual Property was established in 1990 as a statutory office by the Director of Intellectual Property (Establishment) Ordinance. The Intellectual Property Department operates the Trade Marks, Patents, Designs and Copyright Licensing Bodies Registries. The department is also responsible for making recommendations on policy and legislation related to intellectual property protection, provision of civil intellectual property legal advice to the Government and promotion of public awareness of and respect for intellectual property rights.

Rights of the Individual

Legal protections

Chapter III of the Basic Law prescribes the fundamental rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong. In particular, Article 39 (which forms part of Chapter III) provides that the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force. Additionally, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance gives domestic effect to the provisions of the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong.

Other statutory protections, overseen by the Equal Opportunities Commission, are contained in the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, and the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance. Additionally, the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance administered by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data protects the right to privacy with respect to personal data.

The Race Discrimination Bill

The Bill of Rights prohibits racial discrimination on the part of the Government and public authorities but not the private sector. In 2003, the Government announced its intention to redress the position and, in February 2005, it concluded public consultations on the legislative proposals. It was hoped to introduce the Bill into the Legislative Council in 2005 but the consultations revealed some technically complex issues that delayed finalisation of the Bill. The aim now is to complete the process in 2006-07.

United Nations Human Rights Treaties

Fourteen international human rights treaties apply to Hong Kong. Six are particularly important because they oblige governments to submit periodic reports to the UN treaty monitoring bodies. At the end of 2005, the position regarding the Government's reporting obligations was:

(a) the ICCPR: the UN Human Rights Committee will hear the second report in

March 2006;

(b) the ICESCR: the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

heard the second report (as part of China's first) in April 2005;