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Mr Siddle
Overseas Police Adviser
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731
318
1983 COMMONWEALTH LAW
1.
NTD
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UND
Consular Dept
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UND'B', ODA
MINISTERS' MEETING (CLMM): SRI LANKA
You have already seen a copy of the Commonwealth Secretary- General's circular letter No.44/82 of 10 June to Commonwealth Law Ministers about their meeting next year in Sri Lanka (a further copy is attached for ease of reference). In it Mr Ramphal proposes that the meeting take place from 14-18 February 1983, and he sets out, and invites views on, a number of ideas for the agenda. The Legal Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat has followed this up with a separate letter to the Lord Chancellor (copy also attached).
2.
The last CLMM was in 1980. The UK delegation then consisted of the Attorney-General and the Lord Advocate (each accompanied by an official) a Home Office official and the Attorney-General of Hong Kong.
3. The Law Officers' Department co-ordinated arrangements for the 1981 CLMM and Mr Nursaw, the Legal Secretary in that Department, has agreed that they should do so again. They will be responsible for replying to Mr Ramphal's letter, choosing the British delegation, and co-ordinating briefs in due course.
4.
As a first step, Mr Nursaw plans to hold an interdepartmental meeting before the middle of August to discuss details and consider Mr Ramphal's suggested agenda. You or Mr Siddle may receive an invitation direct. At a similar meeting in 1979, Mr Rushford and the then Assistant in CCD represented the FCO. A representative of CCD will attend again on this occasion.
5.
It might be wise to co-ordinate FCO views on the agenda before Mr Nursaw's meeting. Precedent suggests that there is little we can do to remove items from Mr Ramphal's rather lengthy list, and that Mr Nursaw's reply to his letter might best be confined to an indication of the areas to which we attach the greatest importance and any suggestions we might have for additional topics. If any of the departments to which I am copying this minute have any suggestions or proposals, I should be grateful if they would let me know fairly soon, copying their minute to you. It may be convenient if I list here the agenda topics which Mr Ramphal has proposed (paragraph 5 onwards of his circular).
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