Reconceptualising the Relationship between the Mainland Chinese Legal System and the Hong Kong Legal System

Abstract

It has been more than a decade since China began her experiment of “One Country, Two Systems” in Hong Kong (HK). It is now generally assumed that the relationship between the legal systems of these two jurisdictions is monistic. Analysing post-Handover constitutional case law in HK, including a recent landmark decision on sovereign immunity, FG Hemisphere Associates LLC v. Democratic Republic of Congo, this article challenges this assumption and argues that the relationship between the two legal systems is best conceptualized as a form of legal pluralism found in the European Union.

Keywords: Legal Pluralism, China, Hong Kong, European Union, One Country Two Systems, Constitutions, Legal Systems, FG Hemisphere Associates LLC v. Democratic Republic of Congo, Constitutional Theory, Jurisprudence