Abstract
As a consequence of its historical status as a British colony, Hong Kong relies heavily on English decisions as a source of law and as a touchstone for the development of legal principles. The Hong Kong Constitution-the Basic Law, in force since 1997, when Hong Kong was returned to China-provides that the decisions of "other common law jurisdictions" may be relied on as precedents. Because Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the national laws of the PRC, including media regulations, are not applied in Hong Kong, with the exception of some laws governing defense and foreign affairs. Although the law of defamation in Hong Kong is found largely in the case law, there is some legislation that regulates defamation actions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | International Libel and Privacy Handbook |
| Subtitle of host publication | A Global Reference for Journalists, Publishers, Webmasters, and Lawyers: Third Edition |
| Publisher | John Wiley and Sons |
| Pages | 183-210 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781118357057 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 12 2013 |
Keywords
- Cases
- Civil courts
- Communication law
- Criminal court
- Free expression
- Human rights
- Jury
- Libel
- Litigation
- Media
- Newsroom
- Press
- Privacy
- Publication
- Statute
- Trials
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Economics, Econometrics and Finance
