Law scholar warns rise in number of Basic Law court cases threatens Hong Kong’s government system
Views of Professor Cheng Jie, a former Basic Law Committee member, published in Hong Kong and Macao Journal
Hong Kong’s executive-led government system is being weakened by the rise in constitutional review cases, which in turn pulls the court into playing a bigger role in political controversies, a prominent mainland legal scholar has asserted.
Professor Cheng Jie, of Tsinghua University Law School and a former Basic Law Committee member, also asked the Hong Kong government and the National People’s Congress standing committee to take into consideration possible legal challenge in case they are to deal with Hong Kong’s political reforms in the future.
Her assertions were contained in an article published in the April issue of the Hong Kong and Macao Journal, a quarterly journal published by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies - a semi-official mainland think-tank chaired by former Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office deputy director Chen Zuoer.
Professor Cheng reviewed 33 Basic Law court cases in Hong Kong between 2000 and 2007 contained in the Basic Law Bulletin published by the Hong Kong government.
Although the city’s court had only ruled in nine of the 33 cases against the administration, Professor Cheng said some of the rulings had far-reaching implications, citing as an example the controversial Chong Fung-yuen case, where the court ruled babies born in Hong Kong could have the right of abode regardless the status of their parents.
