+
2600027 C.S. 20A
SAVING DESPATCH SAVINGRAM
acting
From the Governor, Hong Kong
Foreign
& Commonwealth Affairs To the Secretary of State for/hexos
Repeated to:-
Repeated to:-
22nd October 1968.
Date.......
My Reference...
GR 24/3231/67
Your Reference...
No.
1374
No.
No.
12) FED 574/402/01 (14967/65)
My Savingram No 2956 of 23 December 1965.
Chinese Marriages in Hong Kong
Hel
When our recommendations were put to you in 1965 it was proposed to accept the risk that other countries might not recognise as valid dissolutions of marriage by mutual consent effected in Hong Kong (Recommendation No 8) where the parties were not domiciled in Hong Kong. As was stated in paragraph 4 (e) of the Executive Council Paper, which was forwarded to you at that time, "Highly undesirable as this result may be, to maintain the Hong Kong domicile requirement as a pre-requisite to divorce in Hong Kong would be to deprive the majority of the benefits which it is considered essential to confer."
2
At the same time it was appreciated that without this domicile requirement there was also a danger that "it might truly be said that it would result in Hong Kong becoming the Reno of the Far East" (Paragraph 4 (f)). To lessen this danger it was there- fore proposed to limit the right to dissolve by mutual consent a marriage contracted after the "Appointed Date" to those marriages which were so contracted in Hong Kong.
3
Since then changes in the law in England have resulted in a lessening of the risk that such dissolutions would not be recognised in England. I am now forwarding proposals put up by my legal advisers which are founded on these changes consequent on the House of Lords decision in Indyka v Indyka.
4
I would welcome your views and confirmation that we may
proceed on the lines suggested.
Encl.
280671968
HKR 14/4
28 OCT 1968
COMMONWEALTH OF
DEPENDENT BERAJTO
LAST
REF
REA
REF.
(42) 150574/602/01 (1967/65
Mh.