Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen said on Thursday that a case brought by an American Company, FG Hemisphere Associates LLC, against Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) set the precedent for interpretation of the Basic Law.

In that case, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) took the initiative to seek interpretation of the Basic Law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).

The US company sought to recover an unpaid debt of over HK$800 million from DR Congo after the African country offered mining rights to China Railway Group in return for massive investments in infrastructure in 2008.

Since DR Congo asserted Hong Kong should follow the central government's absolute diplomatic immunity policy instead of limited diplomatic immunity under the common law system, the CFA sought interpretation from NPCSC.

Finally, after interpretation, the CFA ruled that the DR Congo, as a sovereign body, enjoys state immunity and the courts of Hong Kong have no jurisdiction over that country.

Besides, in accordance with the Basic Law, foreign affairs and the defense of Hong Kong are handled by the central government, which also decides the policy on diplomatic immunity. Thus, the African republic was exempted in Hong Kong from paying the unpaid debt.

It was the fourth time the NPCSC had been requested to make an interpretation of the Basic Law.

The CFA's referring the right of abode issue for foreign domestic helpers to the NPCSC would come prior to the court's final judgment on the right of abode case, just as it did with the Congo case.

Fan Feifei

(HK Edition 12/14/2012 page1)