One country and two systems: will Hong Kong and the mainland reach an agreement on rendition?

Abstract

Hong Kong is clearly within the 'One Country' and this is simply no longer an issue. How the 'Two Systems' can survive, and how they should interact, is the riding question. The substance of mutual legal assistance in general, and extradition — or rendition — in particular, in a domestic context is not necessarily different from that in an international context. Such assistance will be the subject of an agreement between two jurisdictions arrived at through a process of negotiation and agreed upon by both parties. There is no inherent substance in any extradition agreement, international or otherwise. The substance is negotiable depending upon necessity and the parties' political will and political skill. No one party should impose its will on the other. The only question is what are the terms that should go into a rendition agreement between Hong Kong and the Mainland?