Out of Joint? – Hong Kong's International Status from the Sino-British Joint Declaration to the Present

On July 1, 2007, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) celebrated its tenth anniversary. While constitutional reform (or its absence) in the former colony are still closely followed, the international legal aspects of the »one country – two systems« approach adopted for Hong Kong have generally received little attention since the handover.It is argued here that under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, the HKSAR has been granted limited international legal capacity: It may maintain and develop relations with States and relevant international organizations, and conclude agreements in the appropriate fields.The nature of Hong Kong's international personality is difficult to establish, with no apparent equivalent except Macao. The present extent of its legal capacity would seem similar to British rule, when the colony was already largely responsible for the conduct of international economic relations. Yet even more so than in colonial times, such a limited approach seems inappropriate for an entity that would, on almost all accounts, qualify as a State. The new sovereign tends to construe the »appropriate fields« for international capacity in a narrow sense and, arguably, in a narrower sense than envisaged by the Joint Declaration. However, it would be the responsibility of Hong Kong's executive to explore the international options that the Declaration offers.