Friday, March 20, 2020

New Book by Johannes Chan: Righteousness - The Rule of Law: Just Before the Dawn (正道‧法治 ─ 寫在黎明之前)

正道‧法治 ─ 寫在黎明之前 (Righteousness - The Rule of Law: Just Before the Dawn)
a sequel to 正道·大學 : 寫在風雨之後 (Righteousness - The Academia: After the Storm)
Published in January 2020
399 pp
Description: This book is about the rule of law and the challenges to the Hong Kong’s legal system. It comprises seven parts. Part 1, titled the Rule of Law, provides an introduction to some basic concepts about our legal system, such as the independence of the judiciary. Part 2, titled the Basic Law, examines some controversial issues about the Basic Law, such as the principles governing and the restraints on the power of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to interpret the Basic Law, the doctrine of separation of powers, residual powers and the constitutional duties under Article 23 of the Basic Law. Part 3, on Selected Legal Issues, discusses some issues of public concern, such as academic freedom, colocation, civil disobedience, and a special section on a review of the controversies arising from the Extradition Bill. Part 4 focuses on the Courts. It discusses some interesting cases such as the oath case and the transgender case, and reflects on the strengths or weaknesses of our legal system. Part 5, titled Democracy, covers issues such as the core values of Hong Kong, clean and good governance, and the right to self-determination. Part 6 is on Occupy Central Movement. It provides a snapshot of the Occupy Central Movement and makes suggestions on what could be done to resolve the current crisis arising from the controversies over the anti-extradition Bill. The last part, Part 7 on China, discusses some major cases involving China, including the cases of Liu Xiaobo, Meng Wanzhou, sovereignty disputes over South Sea, and explores the difficulties that hinder the development of the rule of law in the Mainland. Through these discussions and commentaries, it is hoped that it will allow the readers to have a better understanding of these social and legal controversies, and in turn, a better understanding of the rule of law and our legal system.
(這本書集中談及法治和香港法制面臨的困境,全書共分為七部份:​第一部份為「法治篇」,希望為讀者提供一些對法制的基本認識。第二部份為「基本法篇」,當中涉獵一些相當具爭議的問題,例如人大釋法及釋法所應受到的限制、人大釋法的追溯力、三權分立及第二十三條立法的憲制責任等。​​第三部份為「專題篇」,集中討論一些特定議題,如學術自由、一地兩檢和公民抗命,亦有一個專門系列,反思《逃犯條例》風波的前因後果。​​第四部份為「法庭篇」,討論一些有趣或值得反思的案件,從中檢視我們的法律制度。​​第五部份為「民主篇」,談到香港的核心價值如廉潔及良好管治,對歷任特首的評價及從法律角度看何謂民族自決等。第六部份的「佔中篇」,由佔中談到《逃犯條例》風波,分析當中的前因後果及如何走出困局。最後一部份為「中國篇」,當中對一些具爭議的案件如劉曉波案的判詞作出評論,南海主權案,孟晩舟​案以至中國對《聯合聲明》的看法,從中探討中國當前在法治建設上的困局。透過這些評論,除令讀者可以對一些具爭議的案件及社會事件有多一個角度的了解,亦希望可以加深讀者對法治和我們的法律制度的認識。)

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