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ICAC Investigator Written Test study materials
ICAC Investigator Written Test study resources

ICAC Investigator Written Test: Hong Kong Basic Law and National Security Law

ICAC Investigator Written Test · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Hong Kong Basic Law and National Security Law

What the paper tests

This domain tests the constitutional framework of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the national security offences that apply in Hong Kong. You need article-level awareness, not political commentary: what the Basic Law provides, how the National Security Law 2020 operates, and how the 2024 local ordinance completed Article 23.

Core rules and concepts

  • Basic Law: promulgated on 4 April 1990 and effective on 1 July 1997. Article 1: the HKSAR is an inalienable part of the PRC. Article 2: the HKSAR exercises a high degree of autonomy under the NPC's authorisation. Article 8: the common law system continues. Article 11: no law of the HKSAR may contravene the Basic Law.
  • Article 23: the HKSAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, and theft of state secrets, and to prohibit foreign political organisations from conducting political activities in Hong Kong.
  • National Security Law 2020: four offences - secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign or external forces. It also provides for the Committee for Safeguarding National Security, designated judges, and a stricter bail test: bail is not granted unless the court has sufficient grounds to believe the person will not continue to commit acts endangering national security.
  • Safeguarding National Security Ordinance 2024: local Article 23 legislation, passed on 19 March 2024 and effective on 23 March 2024. It adds offences such as insurrection, sabotage, external interference and theft of state secrets.
  • Rights are not absolute: the Basic Law protects freedoms, but lawful restrictions may apply, including for national security.

Worked example

A candidate reads: 「Article 23 has never been implemented in Hong Kong because the HKSAR has no local national security law.」 Is that accurate? No. Article 23 imposes a duty on the HKSAR to enact local laws. The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance 2024 is that local legislation; the National Security Law 2020 is a separate national law applied in Hong Kong. The accurate statement is that Article 23 was not implemented for many years, but local legislation was enacted in 2024.

Traps

  • Treating the National Security Law as a replacement for the Basic Law rather than a national law applied in Hong Kong.
  • Confusing Article 23 with the 2020 National Security Law.
  • Assuming the ordinary bail presumption applies to national security offences.
  • Forgetting that the 2024 Ordinance is local legislation, not a Basic Law amendment.
  • Mixing up the roles of the NPCSC, the HKSAR courts and the Committee for Safeguarding National Security.