The Rule of Law under

1984年中英兩國簽署關於香港前途的⋘聯合聲明⋙,作為英國殖民地的香港開始踏入準備於1997年回歸中國的「過渡時期」。在過渡時期,對於法治、人權和公民自由可能於香港回歸後有所減損的疑慮,不曾停歇。評估中國政府所提出的「一國兩制」模式是否成功施 行於香港的一個重要指標,便是1997年後的香港是否能維持其原有的法治?本文藉由回顧從1997年香港特別行政區成立以來香港的法制史,從而為這個問題提供答案;本文焦點將集中在作者認為最具指標性的事件、案例或發展。本文將香港特別行政區成立以來至今的法制史分成四個時期,用四個部分分別處理,最後作出總結。

Since the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed in 1984 and the British colony of Hong Kong began to prepare herself for reunification with China in 1997, there were concerns about the possible deterioration of standards of the rule of law and of civil liberties in Hong Kong after the handover. One of the crucial tests for whether the One Country, Two Systems" model proposed by China would work for Hong Kong is whether the rule of law can be maintained in Hong Kong after 1997. This article seeks to provide an answer to this question by reviewing the legal history of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since its establishment in 1997. It focuses on what the author considers to be the most important events, cases or developments. It divides the legal history of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region so far into four periods. Four sections of this article deal these periods respectively, followed by a concluding section.