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1. Hong Kong is facing a grim future, as the sweeping National Security Law unilaterally imposed by Beijing takes root and government crackdowns on an unprecedented scale cause consternation within...

The Hong Kong Government issued a strongly‐worded official statement, subsequently adopted by the Chief Executive, to publicly condemn an outspoken constitutional law scholar for expressing views which the Government considered unconstitutional. Leave to judicially review the statement was refused by the Court of First Instance of the High Court of Hong Kong on the grounds, inter alia, that a statement lacking in direct legal consequences was outside the ambit of judicial review and, further, the Chief Executive was in any event entitled to comment on public affairs. This note argues that, on a proper understanding of the supervisory jurisdiction of the Court and the theory of the ‘third source’ of governmental power, neither ground should have precluded judicial review.

QT v Director of Immigration is the most important decision on gay rights in Hong Kong since the unequal ages of consent between heterosexuals and homosexuals were held to be unconstitutional 10 years ago. The Court of Appeal of Hong Kong affirmed the right of same‐sex couples married or in a civil partnership overseas to be treated on an equal basis with married heterosexual couples. This note considers the strengths and shortcomings of the Court of Appeal's reasoning, in terms of its potential significance both to the rights of sexual minorities and to the wider protection of human rights by means of the common law.

This article argues that China (on behalf of Hong Kong in the international arena) has been placed in breach of its obligations under the ICESCR for failing to protect employees from abuse and ensure that they work in just and favourable conditions which are reasonable in terms of working hours. Drawing upon treaties and jurisprudential materials emerging from the international and European organs whose task is to uphold socio-economic rights, the author delineates the content of the ‘minimum core obligations’ entailed by Article 7(d) of the ICESCR and the manner in which they have to be domestically implemented. The author then endeavours to underline the essential features a scheme regulating working hours in Hong Kong must include if it is to operate consistently with the ICESCR.