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The Legal System

adjudication for Hong Kong. Pursuant to the Basic Law, judges from other common law jurisdictions have been invited to sit on the Court of Final Appeal since 1 July 1997.

Law in HKSAR

The laws in force in the HKSAR are:

⚫ the Basic Law;

• the national laws listed in Annex III to the Basic Law and as applied to the HKSAR by way of promulgation or legislation;

the laws in force before 1 July 1997 (including the common law, rules of equity and customary law as well as statutory law), other than those not adopted as laws of the HKSAR by the NPC's Standing Committee because they contravened the Basic Law; and

• laws enacted by the HKSAR's legislature.

National laws that may be added to Annex III to the Basic Law are confined to those relating to defence and foreign affairs, as well as other matters outside the HKSAR's autonomy.

All legislation in force in the HKSAR is bilingual, and the Chinese and English texts are equally authentic. All legislation is published in a hard-copy loose-leaf edition and is also available for free reference on the internet at www.legislation.gov.hk. A new electronic legislation database with legal status is under preparation after the Legislation Publication Ordinance was enacted.

Legal Protection for Rights of the Individual

Chapter III of the Basic Law prescribes the fundamental rights and duties of Hong Kong residents. Among others, Article 39 provides that the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and international labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the HKSAR.

Protection against discrimination is provided for in the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Disability Discrimination Ordinance, Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and Race Discrimination Ordinance, which are enforced by the Equal Opportunities Commission, while the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, which is administered by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, protects the privacy of individuals in relation to personal data.

United Nations Human Rights Treaties

Fifteen international human rights treaties are applicable to Hong Kong. Seven of these, namely, the ICCPR, ICESCR, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights

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