Hong Kong Basic Law-Judicial Review Essay Examples

Judicial review is an exceptional type of court case in which an act, action, decision or any other inconsistency on side of the government is challenged, in the courts of law. Judicial review scrutinizes the activities of the government by ensuring that the government’s activities are in accordance to the law. This establishes a legal equilibrium. Constitutional review is the scrutiny and close examination of the laws governing a country which might result in adjustments of these rules; a process known as constitutional amendment or review. According to Article 8 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, the rules of equality, subsidiary legislation, customary law and common law were supposed to be maintained except for those that breached the law or in the event of any amendments by the administration of the Special Administrative region of Hong Kong. According to Article 18 of the Hong Kong basic law, the national laws had no jurisdiction in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. If the constitution contravenes the Basic Law (HK Basic Law), judicial review comes in handy to challenge this; this referred to as constitutional review.
There have been several famous cases about constitutional review in the past. The best example is Ng Ka Ling and others v Director of immigration. In this case, the national government had enacted amendments on laws that resulted to confusion and controversy about the citizenship and the rights of residents of the people living in China and Hong Kong. Articles 24 (2), 24 (3) and 24 (4) of the Hong Kong Basic Law, attempt to clearly define the citizenship and immigration rights of the Chinese citizens and Hong Kong citizens. The amendments by the government on immigration (cap 115) have made it pretty difficult for children born in China to live in Hong Kong. In this case, the court of final appeal invalidated this law because it breached its own interpretation. The erroneous interpretation of this law and its invalidation [articles 24 (2), 24 (3) and 24 (4)] of the Hong Kong basic law is an example of judicial review.