Les implications juridico-constitutionnelles du transfert de la souveraineté de Macao à la République populaire de Chine

Abstract

According to the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, signed on March 26th 1987, in Beijing, Macau's Territory which is actually under Portuguese administration, will, on December 20th 1999, return to the sovereignty of the People 's Republic of China, being settled as the Special Administrative Region of Macau (SARM). Under the terms of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and Macau's Basic Law, recently approved by the People's National Assembly, Macau will, for fifty years, maintain its capitalist System unchanged under the direct jurisdiction of the People 's Central Government and will maintain a high degree of autonomy with the exception of the foreign and defense affairs. The author, on what concerns the agreements signed by the PRC and the attainment of the « one country, two Systems » principle, evaluates the Territory 's position as an autonomous entity on matters of International law and considers it as a means of relating China to the West.