Expert calls for specific legislation on fundamental rights

Paulo Cardinal (right)

Paulo Cardinal, legal adviser to the Legislative Assembly over the past 20 years, launched his book “Studies on Fundamental Rights in Macau’s legal system” last week at the Rui Cunha Foundation. Mr Cardinal believes that although the city’s Basic Law contemplates citizens’ fundamental rights, specific legislation to safeguard these rights should be drafted.
Speaking on the sidelines of the book launch, Mr Cardinal noted, “The Basic Law and joint declaration already contemplate a comprehensive list of fundamental rights, but it can always be improved.”
Highlighting some areas in which further legislation could be drafted, Mr Cardinal recalled the need for “a general law contemplating fundamental rights.” “We need a law safeguarding the exercise of fundamental rights, establishing the limits of these fundamental rights, and addressing matters like how we can follow up on court decisions if we are set before a violation of a fundamental right.”
Mr Cardinal recalled that Macau’s legal system used to feature “amparo” appeals, which worked as a remedy for the protection of constitutional rights. He added that a similar mechanism should be introduced focusing solely on the defense of fundamental rights.
Specific legislation for trade unions is also needed, he stressed. “Another area where there’s a clear gap is in the universal freedom of association. We have the right to form unions but we do not have a trade union law. If the Basic Law allows for the creation of unions then it indicates there should be a trade union law regulating those unions and the freedom of association [activities],” he acknowledged.
Mr Cardinal added that there’s also a need for specific legislation against discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and race.
Upon being asked about non-­resident workers’ rights, Mr Cardinal acknowledged that they could be better safeguarded: “Macau has a tradition of welcoming refugees and of needing people from outside to help build up its economy and society, and therefore we cannot look to those people as mere ‘tools’ that came here to build hotels or roads; or serve at our homes and restaurants. We need to ensure they have rights; for instance, this week it has been debated that non-residents should have access to the social security system.”
Presenting his book, which gathers several of his articles written between 1993 and 2015, Mr Cardinal stressed that Macau needs further studies and research addressing its legal system. “We need to focus on studying, researching and training in order to improve Macau’s legal system,” he said.
In addition, he recalled the lack of translators. “Legal translation is very demanding and we do not have enough translators (…) Macau’s particular legal system can exist only as long as it is easily thought and used in Chinese as it is in Portuguese.” Mr Cardinal stressed that there’s also a need to further citizens’ knowledge of the MSAR’s legal system.