J
RJ Ayling Esq
HICK 184
18416
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51
13 NOV 1980
DECK OFFICER
Solicitors Departmen Ex
Department of Trade
PA
Monsanto House
MS
No
18.11
10-18 Victoria Street
London SWI
NY
London S.W.1
Action Taken
Our Ref: MRA 184/393/1
12 November 1980
Dear Bob,
HONG KONG:
Sex
114)
116)
EXEMPTION TROM LICENSING
WIR
1. I refer to your letter of 10 November enclosing a copy The of Sir Freddie Laker's letter of 7 November to Mr Nott. following views on the issues raised by Sir Freddie's suggestion are largely the work of Tony Aust who kindly considered this matter while I was attending negotiations with St Lucia.
2. When Tony Aust looked at the question of British Airway a ' exemption under the Hong Kong regulations last December, he was unhappy about the vires and suggested further investigation then. Unfortunately, the further action suggested in his minute of 13 December 1979 was not followed up here. You have kindly put in train research into the carlier statutes, but unless this, or the researches I suggested in paragraph 4 of my minute of 7 November to Mr Daly, turn up an indication of the precise enabling power, we may have to conclude that BA's exemption wa simply based on a liberal interpretation of the legislation (considered below) or is ultra vires.
Reguls
It may be helpful if I repeat the history of the Hong Kong Regulations:-
(4) The Regulations were made in 1949 under the UK Air Navigation Act 1936, certain provisions of which were extended to Hong Kong by virtue of the Colonial Air Navigation (Application of Acts) Order 1937/378 (as amended by S.R. and 0. 1937/1054, 1945/1637 and 1947/2738).
(B) The Air Navigation Act 1936 was repealed by the Civil Aviation Act 1949 but the 1937 Order continued in force by virtue of Section 70(2) of the 1949 Act until subsequently revoked by Article 6(1) of the Colonial Civil Aviation (Application of Act) Order 1952. Article 6(2) of that 1952 Order set out a saving provision by virtue of which the Regulations continued in force.
-1m
CONFIDENTIAL,
(D)/