published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Doctor of Legal Studies

The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region established the legal and judicial systems of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China. The courts of the HKSAR are vested under the Basic Law with the independent judicial power of the HKSAR, and are authorized to interpret the Basic Law. The common law based legal system is maintained in the new order under the Basic Law. The HKSAR courts have interpreted the Basic Law as the constitution of the HKSAR, and, using the traction provided by the constitutionalization of the Basic Law, made and filled for themselves the role of a constitutional check on the executive and legislative branches of government to ensure that they act in accordance with the Basic Law, with the constitutional jurisdiction to invalidate executive decisions and legislations found to be inconsistent with the Basic Law. This Thesis considers the exercise of judicial power in the HKSAR along three trajectories. The first tackles the challenges to the legality and legitimacy of the constitutional jurisdiction of the courts of the HKSAR to review legislations of the HKSAR, principally propounded by Mainland Chinese scholarship. The arguments set out in the most representative of such scholarship are each examined and rebutted. Nevertheless, the courts of the HKSAR are vulnerable to the exercise of the power of interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) of certain provisions of the Basic Law touching upon the review of legislation and the adjudication of cases. The second concerns the relationship between the HKSAR courts and the coordinate branches of government of the HKSAR, namely the executive authorities and the legislature. Through an examination of the methodologies and procedures in which the HKSAR courts review legislation, it is found that they have calibrated and tempered the process of review, including the countering of justification with deference and the innovation in remedies, to palliate the effect of judicial scrutiny. The third examines the incidents where the exercise of judicial power in the HKSAR impinges upon a national law element under the Basic Law, the chief of which is the Court of Final Appeal making a reference of provisions of the Basic Law to the NPCSC for interpretation before final adjudication. The Court adopted strategies to resist the making of a reference to the NPCSC, taking a ‘second-best’ approach in limiting the effect and influence of Mainland legislative measures and legal theory in the HKSAR. It is possible for the Court to act as a last bastion of the autonomy of the HKSAR. This Thesis concludes with a cautious look at the erosive risks to the duty of the HKSAR courts to exercise constitutional jurisdiction posed by the findings above and the trend of indigenization of jurisprudence. The jurisprudence of the HKSAR must, in its own interest, stay cosmopolitan. / The Best PhD Thesis in the Faculties of Architecture, Arts, Business & Economics, Education, Law and Social Sciences (University of Hong Kong), Li Ka Shing Prize, 2010-11. / published_or_final_version / Law / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Adopting historical, legal and comparative methods and incorporating knowledge and findings from multiple disciplines, this thesis not only explores political implications of those constitutional provisions and amendment regarding the Chinese presidency, constitutional significance of the CPC's political practices of decision-making such as Mao Zedong's "power of last say", his idea of "two fronts", his controversial abolition of the chairmanship, Deng Xiaoping's idea of "the core of leadership", and "diplomacy of the head of state" by Chinese presidents, thus negating the mainstream constitutional and political idea that the Chinese president is (or should be) the head of state of China, but also sheds new lights from the institutional perspective on the on-going academic discussions about the situation of rule of law in China. Since China is a great Eastern and developing country "building socialism with Chinese characteristics", this thesis also contributes to research in areas such as cold war history, the socialist government system and legal development in developing countries. / By pioneering an all-around examination on legal and political development of the Chinese presidency since its origin through different historical stages from both normative and positive aspects within the framework of the party-state, it is concluded that the Chinese presidency has evolved from a traditional Chinese title into a governmental position, and then a state institution that has a constitutional appearance of a Western semi-presidency. However, it has functioned politically in a Stalinist party-state with Chinese characteristics, whose candidate has by far been produced according to the CPC's step-by-step succession rules designated by the paramount leaders and real political decision-making power has mainly not only been limited by these succession rules, but also decided by his role and status within the CPC's supreme collective decision-making body. Underlined such decades of constitutional evolution and political dynamics have been the changing foreign influences and local demands on China. As China becomes more globalized and its traditions of "rule of man" gradually die out, law and politics surrounding this office has been more compatible, thus giving rise to a nascent rule of law. / It is widely-accepted that the constitutional office of Chinese president has undergone dramatic changes since its establishment in 1954, to its abolition in 1975, and its revival in 1982. This has been commonly attributed either to the importation of the Russian model, or the personal influences of the CPC's leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, or political considerations, such as the need for a head of state. This thesis questions these general, yet sometimes contradictory, account and quests for more coherent explanations for those twists and turns in the evolution of the office of president. / Zhang, Runhua. / Adviser: Michael Pendleton. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-04, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 285-314). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Master of Laws

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

University of Macau / Faculty of Law