ProportionalityisaGerman,andthuscontinentalEuropean,conceptinpubliclawthatisappliedbyboththeCourtofJusticeoftheEuropeanUnion(CJEU)andtheEuropeanCourtofHumanRights(ECtHR).Theprinciplespecifiesthatmeasuresadoptedbyexecutiveauthoritiesshouldnotexceedthelimitsofwhatisappropriateandnecessaryinordertoachievelegitimateobjectivesintheinterestofthepublic.Usingafunctionalcomparativeapproach,thisbookevaluatestheextenttowhichproportionalityhasbeenintegratedintotheEnglishandHongKongjudicialsystemsbycomparingcaselawinthesecourtswiththatoftheCJEUandtheECtHR.Thetextalsoreviewsthedevelopmentofproportionalityandpresentsatopicalunderstandingofwhyitsadoptionandapplicationhaveencountereddifficulties,particularlyregardingsocio-economicrights,insomejurisdictions,suchastheUnitedKingdomandHongKong.WrittenbyascholarwithexperiencefrombothwithintheHongKongjudicialsystemandfrominternationalresearch,thisbookisthefirstall-encompassingreferenceforlegalpractitionersworldwide.
