The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and Related Constitutional Instruments (2023 Edition) (Bilingual) 中華人民共和國香港特別行政區基本法及相關憲制性法律文件 2023

Editorial and Publishing Notes

To meet the needs of teaching and research on the Basic Law, promote and popularize knowledge of the Basic Law, and facilitate the consultation of legal texts, the City University of Hong Kong’s “Hong Kong Basic Law Implementation Research Project” decided to edit and publish a compact edition of the Basic Law (including other related constitutional documents). The aim is to provide legal and related professionals, public officials, and the general public with a refined, portable, and easy-to-reference compilation of the Basic Law.

This compilation includes the full text of the Basic Law (9 chapters, 160 articles, and three annexes) and current constitutional documents directly related to the Basic Law, including decisions and legal interpretations made by the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee regarding the implementation of the Basic Law.

Features of This Portable Legal Compilation

Bilingual Format

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region adopts a bilingual legal system, with all laws available in both Chinese and English. This compact edition presents Chinese and English side-by-side, allowing readers to compare the two versions without needing to flip pages, thus facilitating seamless cross-referencing.

Classified Arrangement

Previous compilations of the Basic Law and related constitutional documents were typically arranged in chronological order of promulgation without classification by content or nature. In contrast, this compilation categorizes 20 important constitutional decisions and interpretations into three parts:

1. General “Decisions” (11 documents).
2. “Decisions on Annex III” (3 documents).
3. “Legal Interpretations” (6 documents).

Each section is further arranged in chronological order.

Cross-Referencing of Articles

Notes have been added next to the text of each article to indicate related articles or documents referenced or mentioned. This facilitates quick access to relevant provisions or materials. Editorial notes are marked in the text with symbols (e.g., “*”), and the corresponding notes are provided at the bottom of the same page.

Portable and Convenient

This edition is compact and lightweight, making it especially suitable for university students and faculty, legal and related professionals, as well as public officials. It allows users to easily carry it around and consult it at any time.

編輯出版說明

為《基本法》教學與研究需要，為推廣及普及《基本法》知識，為方便查閱法律文本，香港城市大學「香港基本法實施研究計劃」決定編輯出版一本輕便裝本《基本法》（包含其他相關憲制性法律文件），希望為法律與相關專業人士、公職人員，及大眾提供一本精緻輕巧、方便攜帶、易於查檢的《基本法》匯編本。它收錄《基本法》正文（共9章160條條文以及三份附件），和與《基本法》有直接關聯的現行憲制性法律文件，包括全國人民代表大會及其常務委員會分別就《基本法》實施作出的相關決定和法律解釋。

這本便攜式法律匯編具有如下特點：

雙語對照
香港特別行政區實行雙語法律制度，所有法例均有中文及英文兩種版本。這個輕便裝本，中英雙語並列，目的為便於讀者對照閱讀，不用翻頁就能在兩文之間互相檢索。

分類編排
過去出版的《基本法》及相關憲制性文件匯編，一般只直接按頒布時序編排，未有從內容及其性質上進行分類。除《基本法》正文單列外，本匯編特別將共20份重要憲制性決定及釋法文件，分為一般性「決定」（11份）、「關於附件三的決定」（3份）及「法律解釋」（6份）三部分，每部分再按時序排列。

條文互檢
本匯編根據每項條文內容所提及或指涉的另一或幾個條文或文件，於旁邊附註，便利讀者迅速檢閱相關條文或文件。此外，編輯附註在文中以符號（如“*”）標示，附註內容見同一頁底部。

攜帶方便
它精緻小巧，尤其適合大專院校師生、法律和相關專業人士，以及公職人員隨身攜帶，並隨時查閱。