Immigration, Torture Claimants and Right to Family Life

Event Details

Date:

Monday, 21 May 2018

Time:

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Room:

Sir Harry Gibbs Moot Court (W247) Level 2, West Wing Forgan Smith Building The University of Queensland, St Lucia

UQ Location:

Forgan Smith Building (St Lucia)

URL:

https://law.uq.edu.au/event/session/9649

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Presenter: The Honourable Mr Justice Andrew Cheung, Chief Judge of the High Court, Hong Kong

A good measure of the strength of the rule of law and independence of the judiciary of a society is how the poor, those on the fringe of society, immigrants and refugees are treated before the law. For very practical reasons, Hong Kong, though a diverse, international city with a strong immigrant history, adopts a strict, stringent immigration policy, particularly in the face of very substantial numbers of illegal immigrants and torture claimants. Nonetheless, the Hong Kong courts have always dealt with the many legal challenges by unsuccessful immigrants and those liable to be deported with great care.

This talk will examine how the Hong Kong courts have grappled in recent years with the many complicated legal issues concerning the Basic Law as well as international instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention Against Torture, raised in these cases. The talk will also touch on the interesting question of whether the right to raise a family guaranteed under article 37 of the Basic Law includes the right to be raised, or more precisely, the right to be raised in Hong Kong, in the context of immigration.