This is the first systematic analysis of the constitutional, legal, economic, social and political systems of Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China. It examines the Basic Law against its historical and socio-economic contexts, including its international and domestic foundations, and the loss and the resumption of sovereignty by China. The author offers a conceptualization of the Basic Law and locates it within China's constitutional, political and legal systems. The book explores the balance as well as the tensions between the autonomy of Hong Kong and the sovereignty of China, which are aggravated by the necessity to accommodate contrasting economic and political systems. It also identifies key legal and political problems that are likely to arise in implementing the Basic Law and suggests an approach to its interpretation. The Basic Law provides a fascinating example of the interaction of widely different traditions of law, politics and economy, and a novel system of autonomy. Its study is therefore of great interest to scholars of comparative law and politics. This new edition covers significant political, constitutional and legal developments since the transfer of sovereignty in July 1997.

Constitutions worldwide inevitably have 'invisible' features: they have silences and lacunae, unwritten or conventional underpinnings, and social and political dimensions not apparent to certain observers. The Invisible Constitution in Comparative Perspective helps us understand these dimensions to contemporary constitutions, and their role in the interpretation, legitimacy and stability of different constitutional systems. This volume provides a nuanced theoretical discussion of the idea of 'invisibility' in a constitutional context, and its relationship to more traditional understandings of written versus unwritten constitutionalism. Containing a rich array of case studies, including discussions of constitutional practice in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Indonesia, Ireland and Malaysia, this book will look at how this aspect of 'invisible constitutions' is manifested across different jurisdictions.

This collection of selected works by Professor Albert H.Y. Chen shows the contours of the author’s scholarship as it developed over 35 years of his academic career, from 1984 to the present. The essays are divided into three sections which cover the three major domains of Professor Chen’s research. Part I covers the legal developments and controversies of “One Country, Two Systems” since the Hong Kong interpretation on “the right of abode” in 1999 to the anti-extradition movement of 2019. Part II shifts to focus on tradition and modernity in Chinese Law, including China’s Confucian and Legalist traditions and how the socialist legal system in China evolved and modernized in the era of “reform and opening”. Part III examines the transplantation of Western thinking and constitutionalism to East Asia in modern times and discusses the achievements and failures of these efforts. In conjunction with an introductory chapter that sets out the basic orientation and paradigm of these legal and constitutional studies and an epilogue that reflects on the main themes, this collection exemplifies the author’s important contributions to the field and provides insight into how the legal orders in Hong Kong and mainland China have changed over the course of Professor Chen’s academic career.

This book explores legal and constitutional issues in Hong Kong's relationship with mainland China through an analysis of the litigation on the right of abode of the children of Hong Kong residents who are born and live in the mainland. The litigation in the Hong Kong courts and the subsequent interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress were followed with keen interest both locally and internationally, and had provoked great controversy. The differing approaches to and styles of interpretation of the Court and the Standing Committee provide a vivid demonstration of the clash of legal systems within which Hong Kong's constitutional system has to operate. These issues are discussed in this book by Hong Kong's leading legal scholars and practitioners. This book offers perspectives to solve these controversies and to develop an acceptable approach to the interpretation of the Basic Law. It captures the sustained public debate on constitutional issues and provides a historical record of this constitutional debate. It also contains the full texts of the decision of the Court and the Interpretation by the Standing Committee.

The context in which constitutional laws and human rights instruments are read is ever-changing, and this is particularly true for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. To understand the application of both national and local legislation and internationally recognized covenants, it is essential to be well acquainted with the documents themselves. Constitutional Law and Human Rights in Hong Kong—A Sourcebook is a one-stop resource for teaching, learning, and researching constitutional law and human rights in Hong Kong. As a handbook of teaching materials suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate studies, it is an indispensable tool for courses such as Hong Kong Constitutional Law, Basic Law, Public Law of Hong Kong, The Law of Human Rights of Hong Kong, International Human Rights Law, International Criminal Law, International Labour Law, Law and Gender, International Environmental Law, Business and Human Rights, and Discrimination Law. Moreover, it is equally useful for teaching and research in the fields of political science, business, and other social sciences. • Up-to-date legislation • Condensed into a single volume • An essential teaching and reference guide • Applicable across multiple legal fields

Effective since China's resumption of sovereignty on 1 July 1997, the Hong Kong Basic Law lays down the general policies and system of government for Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" formula. It guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, enshrines the rights and freedoms of residents, and preserves a separate common law system with an independent judiciary. This introduction traces the origins of the Hong Kong Basic Law and the concepts and legal issues that surround it. Drawing on the experience of the first 15 years, it then analyses the content of the Hong Kong Basic Law, especially in relation to Hong Kong's political system, the judiciary, and human rights. Intended especially for students at all levels in law, politics, and other disciplines, this book—the only introductory guide of its kind to the subject—will also appeal to the general reader interested in Hong Kong's experience under "one country, two systems". "Danny Gittings's Introduction to the Hong Kong Basic Law makes a significant contribution to an important subject. It is expressed in reader-friendly terms. The insights that it provides are of value not only to lawyers but also to the general public." —The Hon. Mr. Justice Kemal Bokhary, Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (1997–2012), Non-Permanent Judge (2012– ). "This well-researched and very readable introduction explains the history, practices and future of the Basic Law—Hong Kong's key constitutional document. It also explores how far the Basic Law is able to address the many political and legal issues now facing Hong Kong. The book is suitable for a wide range of readers. Students of Hong Kong law at all levels will find it essential reading. General readers with an interest in Hong Kong's governance will find in it a lucid and accurate guide—and a timely one as the debate about implementing democracy intensifies." —Professor Fu Hualing, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. "Many of us approach law books with trepidation. But Gittings, a legal academic, used to be a journalist and this shows in his ability to make the book accessible to the general reader. [...] The Basic Law will continue to be central to issues facing the city for years to come. This book enables the reader to quickly acquire a much better understanding of them." — South China Morning Post "As Professor Gittings points out in his book, which includes a chapter on what might happen after Hong Kong’s 50-year autonomy ends, readability was a key aim. Acronyms are kept to a minimum and details set up neatly and comprehensively in footnotes so that the main text is kept as clean as possible." — Hong Kong Lawyer

Presents a comprehensive new text on administrative law in Hong Kong; discusses judicial review, administrative tribunals, the Ombudsman and subsidiary legislation.

This book provides an account of the evolving constitutional arrangement known as “One Country, Two Systems”, as practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The British colony of Hong Kong, one of the “Four Little Dragons” of East Asia, reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. Since then, Hong Kong has continued to be an international financial centre, a free market, and a cosmopolitan city. At the same time, the tensions and contradictions inherent in “One Country, Two Systems” have given rise to constitutional controversies and social movements, culminating in the Umbrella movement of 2014, the anti-extradition law movement of 2019, the enactment of a National Security Law in 2020, and the electoral overhaul of 2021. This book discusses the structure and operations of Hong Kong's legal, judicial and political systems and their interactions with the national authorities of the PRC. The book provides a useful case study in comparative constitutional law, especially on autonomy and devolution issues within sovereign States. This comparative study is particularly interesting because Hong Kong is a common law jurisdiction within the PRC's socialist legal system. It will therefore be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese law, Hong Kong law and comparative politics, as well as lawyers whose practice involves Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is widely regarded as an exemplar of authoritarian jurisdictions with a positive history of adhering to Rule of Law–shaped governance systems. British Hong Kong provides a remarkable story of the effective development and consolidation of such a system, which has continued to apply since 1997, when it became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) within the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This book adopts a fresh approach in examining the evolution of Hong Kong’s political-legal experience. It establishes that these prominent governance achievements were built on particular British constitutional foundations forged over many centuries. The work shows how the analysis of the British theorist Albert Dicey and, in particular, “Diceyan Constitutionalism” was fundamental, within the pivotal context of “Chinese Familism”, in shaping the development of governance institutions and operational procedures within the new British Colony. It discusses how Hong Kong’s system of Authoritarian Legality has come to pass. Exploring the essence of that system, the study probes how thoroughly it has been stress-tested, not least in 2019, and how well it may be placed to cope with tests yet to come. It also analyzes Hong Kong–Beijing relations and the long-term prospects for the HKSAR within the PRC based on a balanced contemporary assessment of China’s exceptional One Party State.