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In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the power of final adjudication which was vested with the Privy Council during the British colonial administration is now vested in the Court of Final Appeal following Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China in 1997.
Under the Basic Law, the constitutional document of Hong Kong, the region remains a common law jurisdiction. Consequently, judges from other common law jurisdictions (including England and Wales) can be recruited and continue to serve in the judiciary according to Article 92 of the Basic Law.
On the other hand, the power of interpretation of the Basic Law itself, being part of the national law, is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China (NPCSC) in accordance with Article 158 of the Basic Law. Some are concerned that this arrangement would amount to undermining judicial independence in Hong Kong. Such controversies have arisen in the right of abode issue in 1999.
The court is located in the Former French Mission Building, in Central.