Restricting Basic Law Rights in Hong Kong

Abstract

In Bahadur v Director of Immigration, the Court of Final Appeal considered the question of whether rights found in Hong Kong's constitution, the Basic Law, are subject to restrictions. Bahadur concerned the right of residents to travel and enter Hong Kong, which is found in the Basic Law but not in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as applied to Hong Kong. To its credit, the Court eschewed an approach making such rights subordinate to ordinary legislation. Questions concerning the approach to restrictions on parallel Basic Law rights, ie Basic Law rights that have a parallel right in the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong, have yet to be determined. It is argued here that these rights and their possible restrictions should have an autonomous interpretation and not have to conform to the minimum standards in the ICCPR.