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1. CLAUSE ONE: SPEAKING NOTE FOR CLAUSE STAND PART
Clause 1 is the central provision of this Bill.
It provides for the termination of British sovereignty over the
ceded parts of Hong Kong and the termination of British jurisdiction
over the whole territory from 1 July 1997.
This clause will enable the Government to meet its obligation under
paragraph 2 of the Joint Declaration in which the Government of the
United Kingdom declares that it will restore Hong Kong to the
People's Republic of China with effect from 1 July 1997.
The clause is designed to come into effect at the same time as the
Joint Declaration. The date of this has not yet been agreed but paragraph 8 of the Joint Declaration states that instruments of
ratification shall be exchanged before 30 June 1985.
In recent years the invariable practice when the UK divests itself
of sovereignty over territory has been to do so upon the authority
of an Act of Parliament. The situation of Hong Kong is of course
different, since in this case we are entering into an agreement with another power to terminate sovereignty as from a certain specified
date. But this does not affect the need for parliamentary authority
for the termination of sovereignty: this authority must exist
before the Government ratifies the agreement and thus creates an international obligation.
I therefore hope that the Committee will accept the clause as
drafted.
CONFIDENTIAL