No one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please can you confirm the following two points of law.
1. That Article 39 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region remains in force, which in its official English translation states:
Article 39
The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and international labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents shall not be restricted unless as prescribed by law. Such restrictions shall not contravene the provisions of the preceding paragraph of this Article.
2. That Article 3 of Cap. 383 Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance – which refers to and is identical to Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – remains in force, which in its official English version states:
Article 3
No torture or inhuman treatment and no experimentation without consent
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
[cf. ICCPR Art. 7]
Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Paul Jackson.
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Dear Mr Jackson,
We refer to your email of 5 August 2021 enquiring about Article 39
of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the
People’s Republic of China and Article 3 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights
under section 8 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383).
We would like to draw your attention to Hong Kong e-legislation
(accessible through the following link:
[1]https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/), which is the official database of
Hong Kong legislation, and provides free online access to constitutional
instruments and the consolidated statute laws of Hong Kong. You may wish
to refer to this database for the laws (and the provisions therein)
currently in force in Hong Kong.
You may also refer to the website of the Constitutional and
Mainland Affairs Bureau (accessible through the following link:
[2]https://www.cmab.gov.hk/en/press/publica...) and its various
publications on human rights, including “An Introduction to Hong Kong Bill
of Rights Ordinance” (accessible through the following link:
[3]https://www.cmab.gov.hk/doc/en/documents...).
Please note that the above does not constitute legal advice, and
you may wish to consult your own legal advisor where necessary.
Yours sincerely,
Jessica Leung
Executive Officer
Constitutional and Policy Affairs Division
Department of Justice
