The first chapter outlines the aims of the book, which is to provide an introduction to the Hong Kong legal system especially for first-year law students, but also for students of other disciplines, and practitioners and scholars from other jurisdictions who are looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly overview of Hong Kong’s legal system. It also highlights the key elements of that system, discussing its rules and principles, namely the rule of law, separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary, as well as legal institutions and legal personnel. This chapter traces the historical development of Hong Kong’s legal system, from the acquisition of Hong Kong by the British and the importation of English law (including common law) into colonial Hong Kong to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997 and the present-day legal framework under ‘one country, two systems’.

Mohamed Nasheed is a Maldivian environmental activist, renowned journalist, and politician who served as the first democratically elected President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012. Nasheed made a name for himself as a dissident journalist, regularly reporting on human rights abuses in the Maldives and challenging the authoritarian administration of former President Maumoon Gayoom (1978–2008).1