The National Security Law of the HKSAR: A Contextual and Legal Study

Abstract

The adoption by the PRC National People Congress in May 2020 of a Decision on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and the enactment shortly thereafter by the Standing Committee of the National People Congress of the HKSAR National Security Law (NSL), marked a new era in the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” (OCTS) policy. This paper attempts to understand the nature, significance and implications of the NSL. Part I situates the Chinese action within the relevant constitutional, legal, political and historical contexts. Part II examines the NSL in the light of Chinese law relating to matters of national security. Part III concludes by considering the impact of the NSL on Hong Kong’s existing law, and commenting on the significance and implications of the NSL in the context of the evolution of the OCTS policy and changing circumstances in Hong Kong.