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rule in Campbell v Hall is largely misconceived.
?..
That rule deals
with the limitations which the Crown's grant of authority to a
legislative institution may, in some cases, implicitly place
on its own residual legislative authority: it has no application,
in my view, to the quite different problem of the limits on the
Crown's legislative authority which may inherently exist as a
result of its jurisdiction (in the sense of sovereignty) being
iself limited - in this particular case, limited in point of time.
However, in its main drift and subject to the reservations
which I express below, I do agree with Mr. Griffiths's reasoning
and with the conclusions to which it leads. In commenting how
on these conclusions, I shall follow the form of his Opinion.
SECTION I
Power to enact laws or grant leases for New Territories effective post-1997
This is the passage of the Opinion where I am least happy with
the process by which Mr. Griffiths argues his way to his conclusions.
But I am content with the conclusions themselves. They are to be
found in the passage headed "CONCLUSION" on page 1 and in the last
three paragraphs (on page 5) of the passage headed "REASONING"
Putting them in my own terms, and with a few of my own comments on
them, they are as follows:
(a) The Crown does not at present claim a jurisdiction in
the New Territories which is exercisable so as to have effect beyond 1997 and (? therefore) does not have a title to land in the New Territories which will endure beyond that date..
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