The Basic Law, the guiding document for Hong Kong since its 1997 handover from Britain to China, made provision for the Court of Final Appeal to seek parliamentary interpretation of legislation, the National People's Congress (NPC) said.

But the court had had failed to do so in a landmark case on right of abode there for mainland Chinese residents, it added.

``The Court of Final Appeal... did not ask the NPC Standing Committee to offer an interpretation, while the Court of Final Appeal's interpretation also did not conform with the original legislative spirit (of the Basic Law),'' the NPC was quoted as saying by the People's Daily newspaper.The Basic Law lays down the foundation of China's ``one country, two system'' administration of Hong Kong, under which the territoryguaranteed a high degree of autonomy.

The NPC on Saturday announced it had reinterpeted a section of the Basic Law, effectively overturning a Court of Final Appeal ruling which granted right of abode to the mainland Chinese children of Hong Kong residents.The NPC determined mainlanders born before one of their parents became a permanent resident of Hong Kong did not have right of abode.

The ruling was requested by Hong Kong's government, which had warned the court decision could see the territory swamped by 1.6 million new residents.The NPC moved reduced the number entitled to right of abode to 2,00,000, reports in Hong Kong said.

Critics said the NPC's interpretation of the Hong Kong court's decisions threatened to erode the territory's judicial independence.