Skip to main content

Constitutional Dilemmas in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

  • Chapter
Hong Kong in Transition
  • 82 Accesses

Abstract

The courts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have operated only since 3 July 1997, and in that time only a handful of cases of much constitutional significance have been decided. The first, and arguably the most significant so far, was HKSAR v. David Ma Wai-kwan [1997] HKLRD 761. In that case the Court of Appeal (sitting to determine questions of law reserved by the Court of First Instance) discussed the continuity of the British Hong Kong legal system into the HKSAR period and the constitutional validity of the provisional legislature. It is proposed in this paper to consider these primary questions. (On other aspects of the case, see Chan 1997b and Watson-Brown 1998.)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Bibliography

  • Allan, T. 1997 ‘Parliamentary Sovereignty: Law, Politics, and Revolution’. Law Quarterly Review 113: 443.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, J. 1997a ‘The Jurisdiction and Legality of the Provisional Legislative Council’. Hong Kong Law Journal 27(3): 374–387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, J. 1997b ‘Amicus Curiae and Non-Party Intervention’. Hong Kong Law Journal 27(3): 391–404.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, A. 1997a ‘The Provisional Legislative Council of the SAR’. Hong Kong Law Journal 27(1): 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, A. 1997b ‘Legal Preparation for the Establishment of the Hong Kong SAR: Chronology and Selected Documents’. Hong Kong Law Journal 27(3): 405–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, A. 1997c ‘The Concept of Justiciability and the Jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Courts’, Hong Kong Law Journal 27(3): 387–390 (an abridged version appeared in the South China Morning Post, 5 August).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fung, D. 1997 ‘A Win for the Rule of Law’. South China Morning Post, 1 August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunter, J. 1997 ‘HKSAR v. Ma: The Basic Law “Shall Be” Given a Purposive Interpretation’. The Loophole (newsletter of the Commonwealth Legislative Council Association) December 1997: 38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, J. 1997 ‘China, Hong Kong and Divided Sovereignty after 1997’, in Krawietz, W., Pattaro, E. and Erh-Soon Tay, A. (eds) Rule of Law: Political and Legal Systems in Transition. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, A. 1997 ‘Lost in the Translation: Two Legal Cultures, the Common Law Judiciary and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR’. Cornell International Law Journal 30: 335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kay, R. 1998 ‘Sovereignty in the New Hong Kong’. Law Quarterly Review 114: 189. Watson-Brown, A. 1998 ‘Do We Still Need “Shall"?’ Hong Kong Law Journal 28(1): 29–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wesley-Smith, P. 1994 Constitutional and Administrative Law in Hong Kong, 2nd edn. Hong Kong: Longman Asia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wesley-Smith, P. 1997 ‘The SAR Constitution: Law or Politics?’, Hong Kong Law Journal 27(2): 125–129.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2000 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wesley-Smith, P. (2000). Constitutional Dilemmas in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In: Ash, R., Ferdinand, P., Hook, B., Porter, R. (eds) Hong Kong in Transition. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780333977262_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics