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In a final appeal, the outcome of Wong Siu Ming's case depends on how the Court of Final Appeal reads a Basic Law provision on the relationship between the Central Authorities and the Region. Under Article 158, what must happen before it gives final judgment?
Article 158 vests the power of interpretation of the Basic Law in the NPC Standing Committee. It authorises Hong Kong courts to interpret provisions within the Region's autonomy on their own, and other provisions too, but where a case needs an interpretation of provisions about affairs that are the Central People's Government's responsibility or the Central Authorities-Region relationship, and that interpretation will affect the judgment, the courts must, before a final non-appealable judgment, seek an interpretation from the Standing Committee through the Court of Final Appeal. Hong Kong courts do not have unrestricted interpretive power, and neither the Chief Executive nor LegCo has this role. Source: Basic Law of the HKSAR, Article 158 (basiclaw.gov.hk) (as at October 2026).
Candidates remember that Hong Kong courts may interpret the Basic Law and forget the compulsory referral for provisions outside the Region's autonomy.
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