Administrative / Constitutional Law Hong Kong University Press Book Sale Lawyer's Choices

The Judicial Construction of Hong Kong's Basic Law: Courts, Politics and Society after 1997

By Lo Pui Yin
Hong Kong University Press February 2014

Specifications

ISBN-13
9789888208074
Publisher
Hong Kong University Press
Publication
February 2014
Format
Hardback , 560 pages
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

China has granted Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy through the Basic Law under the principle of "one country, two systems". Hong Kong's legal system under the Basic Law is based on the common law and is administered by independent courts. By interpreting the Basic Law, Hong Kong's courts have reviewed legislation and executive decisions, and have achieved a "second founding" of the Basic Law as an enforceable constitution. This book is the first comprehensive account of how the Hong Kong courts gained this vital power of judicial review. Through an analysis of important court cases since 1997, the book also examines how the Hong Kong courts maintain their relationships with the executive and legislature, and with China's Central Authorities, which have been sceptical of these achievements. Hong Kong's unique status as a common law jurisdiction within socialist China poses risks of integration: this book concludes that the best choice lies in maintaining and developing a cosmopolitan judicial outlook.

Table of Contents

Preface 
Acknowledgements 
Abbreviations 
Table of Cases
Table of Legislation

Part 1:    Introduction and Background to the Study
Chapter 1        Concerns and Organization 
Chapter 2        The Multifaceted Basic Law and Its Assumed Purpose 
Chapter 3        The Background of Concepts 
3.1   One Country, Two Systems 
3.2   High Degree of Autonomy 
3.3   Executive-Led Government 
3.4   Separation of Powers 
3.5   Independent Judicial Power and Judicial Review

Part 2:    The Pioneering Judicial Voyage: 1997–2013 
Chapter 4        1997–1998: Introspective Institutional Clarification 
Chapter 5        1999: The Triumph, Tragedy and Restarting of Constitutional Assertiveness 
Chapter 6        2000–2001: Demonstrating the Common Law Approach 
Chapter 7        2002–2003 
7.1   Mopping up Right of Abode Cases and Delimiting Constitutional Adjudication 
7.2   The Hot and Sickly Days 
7.3   Past and Finality 
Chapter 8        2004–2005 
8.1   Appeals Solely for Resolving Public Law Questions
8.2   A Judicially Inspired NPCSC Interpretation? 
8.3   Formulating the Proportionate Response 
Chapter 9        2006: A Significant Year 
9.1   Blazing Trails for Direct Challenges to Primary Legislation 
9.2   Judicial Power, Access to the Courts and Remedies 
9.3   Deference to the Legislature Re-examined 
9.4   Where the Basic Law Does Not Generate Rights 
Chapter 10      2007–2008: The Courts of Judicature under the Separation of Powers of the Basic Law 
Chapter 11      2009–2010: An Unexpected Transitional Period 
Chapter 12      2011–2013: The Gathering Politicization of the Judicial Process 
12.1 The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Case 
12.2 The Democratic Republic of the Congo Case 
12.3 The Evangeline Banao Vallejos Case & Others 
12.4 The Delayed Backlash, in the Maternity Wards, against the Chong Fung Yuen Case 
Chapter 13      The Judicial Review Phenomenon and the Fundamental Choice

Part 3:    The HKSAR Courts" Vulnerable Judicial Supremacy
Chapter 14      The Jurisprudence that Constitutes the Claim and Initial Observations 
Chapter 15      Mainland Scholarship Questions HKSAR Judicial Review of Legislation 
Chapter 16      The Practice in the Courts of the Macao Special Administrative Region
Chapter 17      In Defence of Judicial Review of Legislation by the Courts of the HKSAR: Supplementing an Under-theorized Exposition 
17.1  Articles 17 and 160 of the Basic Law 
17.2  Hong Kong Courts" Inherent Judicial Power of  Review of Legislation before 1 July 1997: The Common Law Courts in a Written Constitutional Setting 
17.3 Distinguishing Marbury v Madison 
17.4  The Article 84 Filter 
Chapter 18      Conclusion: Arguably Less Vulnerable, Barring Local Politics

Part 4:    The Intra-SAR Relationships: The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary
Chapter 19      The Declaratory Judgment in Exercise of Constitutional Jurisdiction and Its Enforcement beyond the Four Walls of the Court 
19.1 The Theoretical Dimension: The Dichotomy of Individual Effect and General Effect
19.2 The Empirical Dimension: The Compliance Record of the Political Departments of the HKSAR 
Chapter 20      Justiciability and Political Questions 
Chapter 21      Justification and Deference: The Proportionality Analysis 
21.1 The Adoption of Proportionality Analysis in Hong Kong Bill of Rights Adjudication 
21.2 The Continued Application of Proportionality Analysis in Basic Law Adjudication: Changes and Developments 
21.3 The Reliance of the United Kingdom Approach in Proportionality Analysis 
21.4 The Proliferation of Proportionality Analysis in Judicial Decision Making 
21.5 The Utilization of the Language of Deference in Adjudication 
21.6 The Dialectic of Proportionality Analysis: Using Deference as a Counterweight to Justification 
Chapter 22      Remedies Following Constitutional Adjudication 
22.1 Developing Constitutional Remedies in the HKSAR
22.2 Developing Remedies, Developing Judicial Power 
22.3 A Certain Regard to the Legislature When Modifying Legislation 
22.4 Suspension of Declaration of Invalidity of Legislation 
22.5 What Price Constitutional Remedies? 
Chapter 23      Procedural Reactions to the Judicial Review Phenomenon 
23.1 Legal Mobilization in Hong Kong: The Strategic "Test Case", the Tactical Loudspeaker and the Ubiquitous Legal Aid 
23.2 The Judicial Response: Retreat to Procedure? 
23.3 The Re-calibration of the Procedural Framework: Signalling to Whom? 
Chapter 24      Managing the Political Risk of Judicial Review: Strategic Judging within the HKSAR

Part 5:    The Central-SAR Relationship
Chapter 25      Introduction 
Chapter 26      Article 19 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR 
Chapter 27      Article 158 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR 
27.1 The Court of Final Appeal"s Approach on Judicial Reference 
27.2 The European Preliminary Ruling Procedure: A Mechanism for Legal Integration 
27.3 Intra-national Comparables 
27.4 The Strategems of Autonomy 
27.5 Rethinking Judicial Reference: Towards Constitutional Atrophy or Seizing the Constitutional Initiative? 
Chapter 28      Article 18 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR 
Chapter 29      Articles 20, 21, 22, 48(8) and 131 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR 
Chapter 30      Article 159 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR 
Chapter 31      "Second-best" Constitutionalism

Part 6:    Reconstructing the Judicial or Judicial Reconstruction
Chapter 32      The Challenge of the "Second Founding" 
32.1 The Basic Law as "Constitution-making by Outsiders" 
32.2 The "Second Founding" of the HKSAR by the Judicial Construction of the Basic Law 
32.3 Ng Ka Ling Vanishing? 
32.4 Internationalizing Jurisprudence 
32.5 The Challenge of Indigenization 
32.6 The Challenge of Popular/People"s Constitutionalism 
32.7 One"s Own Compass

Bibliography 
Appendix: Excerpts of the Basic Law of the HKSAR 
Index

About the Author

Lo Pui Yin is a barrister specializing in constitutional and human rights law. He is the author of several books and articles on law in Hong Kong.

Reviews

"This book will become the definitive account of the judicial role in Hong Kong after 1997. Writing with great flair, Dr. Lo provides a richly contextual story of judges making great use of a novel legal arrangement to tread new ground. This thorough work of scholarship is a must-read for students of Hong Kong law, as well as those interested in China and comparative judicial politics more broadly."
Tom Ginsburg, Leo Spitz Professor of International Law, University of Chicago Law School

"Lo Pui Yin has written a comprehensive and sophisticated introduction to the major cases and jurisprudence of the Hong Kong courts. Engaging important current controversies, he offers a powerful defence of the present system of constitutional review, resting on Hong Kong's common law tradition."
Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

"This is a thoughtful and scholarly account of an important topic—the construction of the Basic Law by the HKSAR courts. This is a question of vital importance to Hong Kong but it should also be of interest and importance to Mainland legal scholarship. Moreover, the comparative constitutional lawyers across the world will be intrigued by this rigorous and perceptive account of the bridge between the common law of Hong Kong and the legal system of the PRC."
Christopher Forsyth, Professor of Public Law and Private International Law, University of Cambridge

"P Y Lo has produced a monumental book, of great learning, profound research and insightful reflections on the efforts of Hong Kong's judiciary in maintaining the rule of law within the framework of the Basic Law, developing its jurisdiction and jurisprudence with great skill, learning, and, now, a bit of tact. Lo"s mastery of the case law is unrivalled and his legal and political analysis masterly."
Yash Ghai, Emeritus Professor, University of Hong Kong, and author of Hong Kong's New Constitutional Order

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