We call on the Parliament to hold a formal inquiry and investigate whether the JD is void or not as a signatory of the treaty, as we believe there is no evidence that China has acted to ensure the JD abides by the peremptory norms of international law, or “jus cogens.”

According to Article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, ‘A treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law.’ The JD is the legal ground of Hong Kong's handover, but was not passed by a referendum in Hong Kong and we believe there seems to be no evidence HK's election system can comply with ICCPR, meaning the JD may fail to conform to principle of self-determination, and thus conflict with jus cogens.