-52writing and lodged with the Registrar within 21 days from the date of this judgment and that any submissions in reply be lodged within 21 days thereafter, in default of such submissions, the order nisi to stand as an order absolute without further order. I would order the appellant’s costs to be taxed in accordance with the Legal Aid Regulations. Mr Justice Tang PJ : 146. I agree with the judgment of Mr Justice Ribeiro PJ. Mr Justice Bokhary NPJ : Judicial role in regard to socio-economic rights 147. This case is about social welfare. Policy matters thereon are for the political branches of government. But there is in Hong Kong a constitutional right to social welfare. And the responsibility for enforcing constitutional rights, socio-economic ones no less than other ones, rests with the courts. In discharging this responsibility, it has to be recognized that courts are not ideally equipped to undertake resource allocation. At the same time, the courts cannot decline to intervene if the legislative (or administrative) scheme in question fails to accord people the basic necessities to which they are constitutionally entitled. The approach formed by those two propositions is one at which I arrive on principle. It is, however, worth noting that it happens to be the approach adopted by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in V v. Einwohrnergemeine X und Regierunsgrat des Kantons Bern BGE/ATF 1211 1367, 27 October 1995. CSSA and the residence requirement 148. The form of social welfare concerned in the present case is Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (commonly known as “CSSA”). It

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents