Miss Stoddart
MAED (G66/1)
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НКК 19415
RECEIVED IN PROSTY NO. 51
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- 8 AUG 1979
DESK OFFICEP
PEGISTRY
INC
See (54
AIR SERVICES ON THE LONDON-HONG KONG ROUTE
1.
The Hong Kong Attorney-General telephoned yesterday evening to report on his meeting with Messrs Steele and Roberts at the Department of Trade. It had been explained to him that the Secretary of State for Trade had decided, on policy as well as Legal grounds that the CAA procedures must be allowed to run their normal course, without any direction that CPA should be treated on an equal footing with the UK-based airlines that were applying for rights on the route. As far as the Department of Trade were concerned the decision was firm, and the matter would only be reopened if the Foreign Secretary decided to take it up. Because of the policy element in the decision the Department of Trade had not thought it necessary to refer the legal issues to the Law Officers.
2. Mr Griffiths said he had told the Department of Trade that he thought they had been wrongly advised as to the law and had handed over a copy of an Opinion which he had obtained from Counsel whose judgement he trusted. He has since sent me a copy of this; I attach it for Mr Gardiner only.
3.
Mr Griffiths said that the Department of Trade were clearly anxious that the Hong Kong Government should appear before the CAA to give their views (presumably in favour of the CPA appli- cation). They also wanted the Hong Kong procedures to follow those of the CAA. Mr Griffiths said he was not at all sure that it would be wise for the Hong Kong Government to associate them- selves with a procedure which was loaded against CPA.
He was also unhappy about the Department of Trade's contention that this bias could be corrected in an appeal to the Secretary of State against the CAA's eventual ruling. He thought it would be politically very difficult for the Secretary of State to decide in favour of CPA if the CAA verdict had been in favour of BCAL or Laker. Finally
Finally, he thought it quite likely that the Hong Kong ATLA would decide in favour of CPA whether or not their hearings followed those of the CAA and that there would be a conflict which would be very difficult to resolve.
4 I shall be minuting separately in reply to your minute of 26 August.
7 August 1979
CC
R JT McLaren
Hong Kong and General Department
Mr Gardiner, Legal Advisers
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