Question: Is Hong Kong's legal system tied to China's?
About the article "Hong Kong", section "Legal system and judiciary".

Candidate passages:
Every society has its own sets of moral standards and expectations.
Different legal systems and laws develop and evolve based on these moral standards and expectations.
Following the common law system introduced into Hong Kong when it became a Crown colony, Hong Kong's criminal procedural law and the underlying principles are very similar to the one in the UK.
As if in other common law jurisdictions, Hong Kong follows the principle of presumption of innocence.
This principle penetrates the whole system of Hong Kong's criminal procedure and criminal law.
Lord John Sankey once described this principle as a 'golden thread'.
Therefore, knowing this principle is vital for understanding the criminal procedures practised in Hong Kong. 
Hong Kong's legal year is marked as Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year with an address by the Chief Justice of Hong Kong and begins in January. 
Hong Kong-United Kingdom relations refers to international relations between the post-colonial Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
UK policy toward Hong Kong is underpinned by its substantial commercial interests, and fullfilling obligation as the other signatory of Sino–British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong, in addition to support Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and in accordance with China's policy of observing "one country, two systems". 
Hong Kong's legal system is completely independent from the legal system of mainland China.
In contrast to mainland China's civil law system, Hong Kong continues to follow the English Common Law tradition established under British rule.
The essence of English common law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying legal precedent ("stare decisis") to the facts before them.
For example, murder is a common law crime rather than one established by an Act of Parliament.
Common law can be amended or repealed by Parliament; murder, for example, now carries a mandatory life sentence rather than the death penalty.
According to Article 92 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's courts may refer to decisions rendered by courts of other common law jurisdictions as precedents, and judges from other common law jurisdictions, most commonly England, Canada and Australia, are allowed to sit as non-permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal.
Structurally, the court system consists of the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, which is made up of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance, and the District Court, which includes the Family Court.
Other adjudicative bodies include the Lands Tribunal, the Magistrates' Courts, the Juvenile Court, the Coroner's Court, the Labour Tribunal, the Small Claims Tribunal, and the Obscene Articles Tribunal.
Justices of the Court of Final Appeal are appointed by Hong Kong's Chief Executive.
The Court of Final Appeal has the power of final adjudication with respect to the law of Hong Kong as well as the power of final interpretation over local laws including the power to strike down local ordinances on the grounds of inconsistency with the Basic LawThe Department of Justice is responsible for handling legal matters for the government.
Its responsibilities include providing legal advice, criminal prosecution, civil representation, legal and policy drafting and reform, and international legal cooperation between different jurisdictions.
Apart from prosecuting criminal cases, lawyers of the Department of Justice act on behalf of the government in all civil and administrative lawsuits against the government.
As protector of the public interest, the department may apply for judicial reviews and may intervene in any cases involving the greater public interest.
The Basic Law protects the Department of Justice from any interference by the government when exercising its control over criminal prosecution.
Victoria Prison (), or Victoria Gaol was Hong Kong's first prison.
A testimony to the evolution of Hong Kong's correctional services, it had been the centre of the local prison system until it ceased operation in December 2005.
As part of the Central Police Station Compound, which also includes Central Police Station, Victoria Prison is a declared monument of Hong Kong.
It is located on Old Bailey Street in Central on Hong Kong Island.