On Wednesday 23 August 2023, Associate Professor Shucheng (Peter) Wang from City University of Hong Kong gave a CPICL public seminar on the Constitutional Dialogism and ‘One Country, Two Systems’: Common Law vs Chinese Law? Shucheng (Peter) Wang’s research interests include comparative public law, human rights, legal theory, law and religion, and international law, as well as Chinese law and society. Professor Nichols Aroney, CPICL’s Director, Public Law, chaired the seminar.
In his informative presentation, Assoc Prof Wang discussed how under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ (OCTS) framework, which will officially continue to operate after 2047, the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong has the final authority to interpret the Hong Kong Basic Law using a common law approach, while China’s political authority – the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) – has the authority to interpret it within China’s Party state system. In support of the maintenance of Hong Kong’s common-law-based rule of law order, as intrinsically entailed by OCTS, and as distinct from the Chinese legal system, Assoc Prof Wang’s presentation explored the theory of constitutional dialogism considering both the common law practice in Hong Kong and the meaning of ‘One Country’ as informed by Chinese law. It stimulated many questions and much debate from the audience.
