律政司署
中區政府合署(中區)
LEGAL DEPARTMENT,
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES,
(MAIN WING),
HONG KONG.
** OUR REF.: (62) in AGC 1/730/62C
* YOUR REF.: L. 155/D/39/C36
URME TEL. No.: 95265
Ir Jeramy Pope
Legal Division
Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX ENGLAND
29 June 1982
Review of Commonwealth Extradition
Arrangements
I write with further reference to John Griffiths'
letter to you of 24 March.
As I am sure you will appreciate, Hong Kong's geographical location means that we are regularly requested to apprehen! fugitive offonduro (and fugitive criminals) for the purposes of rendition and extradition.
As a British Crown Colony cur powers in this context depend on the UK Fugitive Offenders Act 1967, and the Extradition Act 1901 (as applied by H1 Order in Council to a foreign State and thereby extending the Act to Hong Kong in respect of that foreign State unless provided to the contrary); hwever, within that framework, we operate wholly independently of the UK and thus have a real interest in rendition/e:tradition which interest may not necessarily be identical to that of the UK (the difference is perhaps one of emphasis rather than of kind).
The Attorney General hopes to attend the proposed meeting in November 1982; if he is unable to do so, I would wish to attend myself.
Whilst generally in agreement with the suggestions made in the Consultative Document prepared by Professor I A Shearer, may I be permitted to make the following observations
/(1)....