The privilege against self-incrimination is a common law right of respectable antiquity. Recent attempts to water down the right by creating "exceptions" have not been successful. However, statutory intervention to modify or remove the privilege is as old as the right itself. In Hong Kong, as in other common law jurisdictions, there are statutes which impinge upon the right in one way or another. The advent of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights may have further implications, as statutory provisions inconsistent with the Bill are deemed to be repealed. This article traces the development of the privilege in the common law and discusses the possible impact of Art 11(2)(g) of the Bill on certain statutory provisions in Hong Kong.