HL Deb 24 February 1997 vol 578 c74WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why they consider that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights should continue to be directly secured in the domestic law of Hong Kong after the resumption of sovereignty by the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997, but that the International Covenant and the European Convention on Human Rights should not be directly secured in the law of the United Kingdom.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

Our policy that the ICCPR and the European Convention on Human Rights should not be incorporated into the domestic law of the United Kingdom arises from the particular nature of our constitutional arrangements, whereby Parliament determines public policy on the rights and freedoms of the individual.

Article 39 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong's future constitution, provides that the provisions of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Region. Hong Kong's Bill of Rights Ordinance incorporates the provisions of the ICCPR into Hong Kong law.