https://www.scmp.com/rss/319102/feed Tony Carty is an emeritus professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology School of Law and will be a visiting professor at the Peking University Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences in the spring semester of 2024. He was chair professor of law at the University of Hong Kong Law Faculty from 2009-2015. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com China is criticised in the West for suppressing democratic rights in Hong Kong, restricting the freedoms of speech and public protest, and arresting and imprisoning “dissident” political activists. Yet Hong Kong’s situation resembles that faced by many Western countries – the political tensions that give rise to national security threats are a product of complex internal factors. The sensible option is to leave it to the national authorities in all but a very few special human rights cases. For... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241141/human-rights-vs-national-security-whether-its-hong-kong-us-or-germany-all-must-find-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241141/human-rights-vs-national-security-whether-its-hong-kong-us-or-germany-all-must-find-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Nov 2023 01:30:14 +0000 The Permanent Court of Arbitration decision on the South China Sea that none of the geographical features in the Spratly archipelago are islands, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, deprives whoever owns them of any right to claim an exclusive economic zone or a continental shelf. China makes such a claim, of course. The tribunal’s main argument against the status of the Spratlys as islands is the relative lack of habitation and economic activity on the islands.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1994587/justice-not-served-tribunals-ruling-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1994587/justice-not-served-tribunals-ruling-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jul 2016 10:41:02 +0000 It is widely thought that the decision by the University of Hong Kong council to reject Johannes Chan Man-mun's appointment as a pro-vice-chancellor is connected with the fact that he is "an internationally renowned legal scholar and administrator who champions the fundamental values of human rights and the rule of law". The failure to provide credible reasons for not appointing him is, therefore, a "litmus test for academic freedom", according to a Post article by Jerome A. Cohen and Alvin... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1864887/what-exactly-does-academic-freedom-mean-johannes-chan-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1864887/what-exactly-does-academic-freedom-mean-johannes-chan-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2015 07:45:45 +0000 Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that every citizen shall have the right to stand for election and to vote without unreasonable restrictions. In the case of Hong Kong, there is an original UK reservation to the applicability of the article to the territory, continued by Beijing. The arguments around the legal effectiveness of this reservation are well known and complex. What has still to be recalled is that international law, of which the covenant... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1794411/hong-kongs-electoral-standoff-bigger-picture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1794411/hong-kongs-electoral-standoff-bigger-picture?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2015 09:41:00 +0000