Introduction to the Hong Kong Basic Law - Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering historical events, treaties, committees, legal cases, and constitutional provisions relevant to the birth and nature of the Hong Kong Basic Law.

HKSAR v Ng Kung Siu

A December 1999 Court of Final Appeal decision involving a law protecting China's national flag, decided during the court's period of judicial retreat.

Article 5 of the Hong Kong Basic Law

The constitutional provision guaranteeing that Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for a minimum of 50 years starting from 1 July 1997.

One Country, Two Systems

A constitutional arrangement under which Hong Kong is permitted to maintain its own capitalist system and enjoy a high degree of autonomy, differing radically from the rest of China for at least 50 years after 1997.

Treaty of Nanking (1842)

The treaty concluding Britain's first Opium War with China under which Qing dynasty China ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain in perpetuity.

Convention of Peking (1860)

The treaty concluding the second Opium War under which Qing dynasty China ceded the southern tip of Kowloon to Britain in perpetuity.

Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory (1898)

The treaty granting Britain a 99-year lease over the New Territories starting from 1 July 1898, establishing the 30 June 1997 deadline for British rule.

Unequal Treaties

The position maintained by successive Chinese governments that the 19th-century treaties ceding and leasing Hong Kong were forced upon China by British force and were therefore legally invalid.

Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984)

An international agreement signed on 19 December 1984 in which Britain agreed to restore Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997, and China set out 12 basic policies regarding Hong Kong's post-handover system.

Sino-British Joint Liaison Group

A diplomatic body established under Annex II of the Joint Declaration to consult on handover implementation, explicitly defined as an organ for liaison and not an organ of power.

Tang Ping Hoi v Attorney General (1987)

A legal case establishing that provisions of an international treaty such as the Joint Declaration are not directly enforceable in Hong Kong courts without accompanying domestic legislation.

Basic Law Drafting Committee

A 59-member body established by China's National People's Congress, comprising 23 members from Hong Kong and 36 from the mainland, responsible for drafting the Hong Kong Basic Law.

Basic Law Consultative Committee

A 180-member body established in June 1985, composed entirely of Hong Kong members, tasked with collecting public views on the draft Basic Law.

Basic Law (National Law Concept)

Under Article 62(3) of the 1982 PRC Constitution, a category of high-ranking legislation enacted by the National People's Congress that ranks above all other Chinese laws except the constitution itself.

Functional Constituencies

An indirect electoral system introduced in Hong Kong in 1985 in which voting rights are restricted to members of specific professional, social, or economic sectors.

Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law

A provision requiring the Hong Kong SAR to enact laws on its own to prohibit treason, secession, sedition, subversion, theft of state secrets, and foreign political activities in the region.

Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383)

Legislation enacted in June 1991 following the 4 June 1989 events in Beijing to protect a broad range of fundamental civil liberties in Hong Kong.

Provisional Legislative Council

An interim body created in 1996 by the Preparatory Committee to perform legislative functions and pass necessary laws from 1 July 1997 until a new Legislative Council could be elected.

Ng Ka Ling v Director of Immigration (1999)

A Court of Final Appeal decision ruling that the requirement in Article 68(1) for the legislature to be constituted by election did not apply to the temporary Provisional Legislative Council.

HKSAR v Ma Wai Kwan David (1997)

The first court case following the transfer of sovereignty to examine the nature of the Hong Kong Basic Law, identifying its international, domestic, and constitutional dimensions.