'Judging Socio-Economic Rights in Hong Kong', (2018) 16(2) International Journal of Constitutional Law 447

Abstract

This article considers the constitutional nature of socio-economic rights under the Hong Kong Basic Law, principally through the lens of article 39 which mandates the implementation of the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights into domestic law. So far, the Hong Kong courts have been reluctant to give domestic effect to guarantees under the ICESCR. This article assesses the feasibility of making the ICESCR effective through Hong Kong’s administrative law and constitutional law. It argues that there is latent potential to invoke the ICESCR in the construction of legislation using the principle of legality. This interpretative mandate furthers the purposive and generous approach to constitutional interpretation and the guarantee that the ICESCR shall be implemented into Hong Kong law. More broadly, the article contributes to the scholarly literature on socio-economic rights adjudication and constitutional theory on rights interpretation.