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Since the Basic Law came into effect on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has,
for the first time, a detailed written constitution. Litigants are able
to base their arguments on provisions of the Basic Law, and challenge
actions that they believe are inconsistent with them.
Legal challenges based on the Basic Law have been
launched in a wide variety of cases. One significant group of cases focused
on the right of abode in Hong Kong of various categories of persons, including
Chinese citizens born in Hong Kong, Mainland-born children of Hong Kong
permanent residents, children adopted in the Mainland by Hong Kong permanent
residents and foreign nationals having ordinarily resided in Hong Kong
for a continuous period of not less than seven years. Other constitutional
challenges have included the conditions of employment of civil servants,
the election of village representatives in the New Territories, the transfer
of sentenced persons, the registration of social workers, the assessment
of government rent, the abolition of the Provisional Urban Council and
the Provisional Regional Council, the right to use the Chinese language
in courts, the freedom to travel and enter the HKSAR, the determination
by the Chief Executive of the minimum term of an indeterminate sentence,
the offence of misconduct in public office and the protection of private
property rights. The gradual development of a body of jurisprudence on
the Basic Law serves to reinforce its effectiveness in determining the
rights, obligations, powers and privileges guaranteed to the people of
Hong Kong. |
