CPD Course:
Fundamentals
of Hong Kong
Constitutional Law:
The Separation of Powers,
the Basic Law
and the NPCSC

Dr. Stephen Thomson is a specialist in Hong Kong public law and is the author of the leading text ‘Administrative Law in Hong Kong’ (Cambridge University Press, 2018).  He is a Legal Adviser to the Ombudsman of Hong Kong, a member of the Constitutional Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong, and an examiner on the Overseas Lawyers Qualification Examination, and was Associate Professor of Law and Director of Research Postgraduate Programmes at the School of Law, City University of Hong Kong.  He holds a Ph.D. in judicial review from the University of Edinburgh (UK), and has practical legal and commercial experience, having worked at a UK law firm and acted on a consultancy and advisory basis to law firms, private clients and public bodies in Hong Kong and the UK.

Is your knowledge of Hong Kong constitutional law less good than it should be? Could your understanding of the powers of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), and Article 158 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, be stronger? Do you feel that your legal understanding of major constitutional events like the 2016 Legislative Council Oath-Taking Controversy and the West Kowloon Station Co-Location Arrangement could be improved?

Then please join our two Hong Kong Constitutional Law seminars.  Using accessible, easy-to-understand explanations and examples, your seminar leader will guide you through the separation of powers in Hong Kong, constitutional interpretation, the powers of the NPCSC through Hong Kong's Basic Law, subsidiary legislation, and significant constitutional milestones in recent years.  Don't worry that your existing knowledge of Hong Kong constitutional law is too weak to join - these seminars are exactly for you.  Please feel free to join one or both seminars.  All welcome.

In this first seminar, we will cover the separation of powers and the rule of law in Hong Kong, the functions and powers of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, the powers of the National People's Congress Standing Committee including interpretations of the Basic Law, and constitutional interpretation.

Please note that we will not be covering the national security law due to the ongoing uncertainty of its substantive legal implications.

• Separation of powers and rule of law in Hong Kong
• Functions and powers of the legislature, executive and judiciary in Hong Kong
• Powers of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) including interpretations of the Basic Law
• Constitutional interpretation