RECEIVED STY
IN
1 MAR 1985
DESK
Mr Galsworthy, HKD
PA (62)
Tave
FROM:
-DATE:
Paul Fifoot
27 February 1985
AMENDMENTS TO LETTERS PATENT AND ROYAL INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Following Ministers' decisions that the constitutional
instruments for Hong Kong should include a power of dissolution
of the Legislative Council, I handed to Mr Leeks amendments to the current drafts of the Letters Patent and the Royal Instructions I attach a copy of these amendments.
(43
49
2. The current drafts of these two documents are those that
were
were enclosed with Sir P Haddon-Cave's letter of 12 February. I commented on them in my minute to you of 19 February.
3. One outstanding point on both the Letters Patent and the
Royal Instructions was the matter of the "appointed date" on
which certain provisions would have effect. As you know, I
was apprehensive that we might get into difficulties if, between the conclusion of the current session of the Legislative Council
and the commencement of the first session after the holding of
elections, there was a need for a meeting of the Legislative Council for some emergency business. Hong Kong has devised the somewhat novel procedure of having extra-sessional sittings if necessary. I have spoken with members of the Law Officers'
Department to try to get some elucidation of this device -
either a postponement of the termination of the session or a
special session would have been more common. However it
appears that Hong Kong wish to keep to its current device and
though I am unconvinced by the arguments for it, it is not
"unconstitutional". I am therefore content to leave this
point and that aspect of the drafts as they are.
1
/4.