More about

Constitution
&
the Basic Law
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 What is ‘constitution’ in definition?

● A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established

precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or
other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be
governed

● For easy understanding, constitution is the set of fundamental rules,

written or non-written, that control how a government can exercise public
power and authority.
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 Basic knowledge of constitution
(worksheet 2, P.2 Source A)
● One country, one sovereignty, one constitution is the common practice of
various countries.

● From the perspective of public international laws, when certain place

belongs to a country, the constitution of the country must be applicable
to that place.

● From the perspective of the study of constitutionalism, constitution is also

the origin of laws and systems of modern countries.
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Extracted from the Constitution and the Basic Law poster issued by the Education Bureau
 From Source A …
● Any places in which a country have sovereignty (i.e. exercise of power)
➔ the country’s constitution must also apply to that place as the
constitution of a country is application to the whole state

Therefore…
● As HKSAR is an inalienable part of the country, the
Constitution of China is also the constitution of the HKSAR
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 From Source A & B of WS02 P.2…
● Constitution is also the origin of laws and systems of modern
countries ➔ Article 31 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of
China stated that ‘The state may establish special administrative regions
when necessary’ and ‘The systems instituted in special administrative
regions shall, in light of specific circumstances, be prescribed by laws
enacted by the National People's Congress’ ➔ as the system of the SAR
shall be prescribed by laws enacted by the National People’s
Congress (i.e. the highest organ of the state and the national legislature of
the PRC) ➔ the full name of Basic Law, the constitutional document of the
HKSAR, is the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of the People’s Republic of China.
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 What is Basic Law?
● The Basic Law is a constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HKSAR) which sets out clearly the country's
basic policies regarding Hong Kong. It enshrines within a legal
document the important concepts of "one country, two systems",
"Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of
autonomy. It also prescribes the various systems to be practiced in the
HKSAR and sets out the blueprint for the HKSAR's future development.

● The Basic Law has been in effect since 1 July 1997. It safeguards the
prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and also protects the rights
and freedoms of Hong Kong residents.
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 In summary…
● The constitutional order of the special administrative region after Hong
Kong’s return to the motherland must be based on and rooted in the
Constitution of the country and the Basic Law.

● The Constitution is the parent law while the Basic Law is the subsidiary law.
Only when there is the Constitution, does the Basic Law exist. Thus, the
Constitution is the legal basis of the Basic Law.

● To summarize, the Constitution of PRC is the constitutional basis of the Basic

Law, and safeguards the implementation of the principle of “one country, two
systems” in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
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 In short…
Constitution is the origin of laws & system of modern
countries which apply to any places in the whole
state

As the HKSAR is an inalienable part of PRC, the

Constitution of PRC is applicable to HKSAR

The Constitution of PRC stated that NPC enact

laws that prescribed the systems instituted in the
HKSAR

The Basic Law, the constitutional document of

HKSAR, is thus enacted under the Constitution of
PRC and was adopted by NPC on 4th April, 1990
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 In short…

The Basic Law sets out clearly the country's basic policies
regarding Hong Kong. It enshrines within a legal document
the important concepts of "one country, two systems", "Hong
Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of
autonomy.
It also prescribes the various systems to be practiced in
the HKSAR and sets out the blueprint for the HKSAR's future
development.
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