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many members of the public may wish to know on what date instruments of ratification were exchanged. We shall of course publish that fact eventually on the cover of our treaty series version of the agreement. But it will be some time before that text appears and in the meantime I should have thought it necessary, in the interests of certainty, for the public at large to know the date of entry into force of the agreement in order to understand the effect of this clause. We should perhaps remind Parliamentary Counsel of the reference in paragraph 3 of the instructions to a notification in the Gazette, and ask him whether, and if so why, he thinks that this is unnecessary.
Clause 2(2)
5. This describes all the enabling provisions contained in the schedule as referring to matters which are "consequential on" the provisions of Section 1, i.e. consequential on the termination of British sovereignty. In principle it seems right to limit in some way the powers conferred by the Schedule, particularly so far as they enable statutes to be repealed or amended by Order in Council. But we need to satisfy our- selves that the amendments to UK law will be consequential on the provisions of section 1, e.g. our amendments to the Civil Aviation Act 1982, referred to in paragraph 18 of the Instruc- tions. I have some doubts as to whether this will be so. It might widen the scope of the Schedule if this clause described the matters contained in it as consequential on, or in anticipa- tion of, Her Majesty ceasing to have any [sovereign rights or title] [sovereignty or jurisdiction] as provided in section 1, or consequential on the entry into force of the Joint Declara- tion. See also para 4 of Mr Wood's minute of 16 November.
Schedule
Paragraph 1
6. See Mr Wood's minute of 16 November, which requires policy decisions, notably in paragraph 3.
Paragraph 2
7. We need the views of the Home Office.
Paragraph 3
8.
The heading to this paragraph is "adaptation of existing law". The inclusion of the word "existing" seems to me to import a temporal qualification, the meaning of which is not entirely clear, particularly in view of the opening lines of paragraph 3(1). It may be preferable to delete the word.
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19.