Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal () is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. Before 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was a British Dependent Territory, and the power of final adjudication on the laws of Hong Kong was vested in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Based on the one country, two systems principle, Hong Kong retains its highly autonomous power and maintains its own legal system. The
Governor of Hong Kong of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison. Authorities and duties of the governor were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions in 1843. The governor, appointed by the British monarch (on the advice of the Foreign Secretary), exercised the executive branch of the Government of Hong Kong throughout British sovereignty and, with the exception of a brief experiment after World War II, no serious attempt was made to introduce representative government, until the final years of British rule. The Governor of Hong Kong chaired the colonial cabinet, the Executive Council (ExCo), and, until 1993, was also