Huge abode court battle under way

The biggest right of abode battle yet, involving 5,350 migrants, finally went ahead yesterday after almost a year of preparations. Such was the demand for a prime position from which to witness the proceedings, some claimants had queued overnight.

By the morning, hundreds had lined up for a green sticker which entitled them to sit outside the Court of First Instance and listen to a broadcast of the proceedings.

Denis Chang SC, for 5,308 of the migrants, told the judge: 'Every single person has his or her story to tell. This court, obviously, is not equipped to hear the story of each and every one of them.' Instead, the legal issues to be determined will be applied to 26 proposed test cases, which lawyers believe will cover the different scenarios.

The case arises from the tangled history of the right of abode saga since the handover. Most of the migrants are claiming the right of abode under the Basic Law. Each has a parent who is a permanent resident.

Mr Chang argues that they should be dealt with in accordance with two landmark victories by migrants in the Court of Final Appeal on January 29 last year. One of those rulings made it possible for claimants born before either of their parents became permanent residents to secure the right of abode. The other did away with a requirement that migrants must obtain a one-way permit from mainland authorities before exercising their right of abode in the SAR.

These key parts of the rulings were controversially overturned by the National People's Congress Standing Committee in June. It reinterpreted the Basic Law at the request of the SAR Government, which feared a huge influx to Hong Kong.