Refugees’ Right to Work in Hong Kong – Or Lack Thereof: GA v Director of Immigration

Abstract

This paper examines the domestic applicability of human rights treaties in Hong Kong in light of the recent Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal decision of GA v Director of Immigration (2014), which concerned refugees’ right to work. In the absence of a comprehensive domestic incorporation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the immigration exception to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) incorporated through the Bill of Rights, refugees do not enjoy a right to work in Hong Kong, except in some circumstances where forbidding work may amount to inhuman and degrading treatment under the ICCPR. This paper reviews the adequacy of the legal protection of refugees in Hong Kong, and argues for a more comprehensive domestic incorporation of the ICESCR to ensure the applicability of the rights thereunder.