From The Minister of State
Richard Luce MP
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
HKK 040/2.....
Dear John.
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2 MAX P35
гузку
177
19 March 1985
Thank you for your letter of 6 March on behalf of
Mr Freshwater of the Law Society of Hong Kong.
I am sorry that Mr Freshwater found my letter to you of 30 January unsatisfactory. The point is plain enough. I shall try to clarify the matter further.
Mr Freshwater asks which courts will determine what the Basic Law means. I said in my letter of 30 January that 'the courts of the Special Administrative Region will be required to act in accordance with the Basic Law, which will be one of the laws of the Hong Kong SAR. If in any proceedings there arises a question as to the meaning of that law, I would expect each Hong Kong court seized of the issue to determine that question, in accordance with judicial precedent and subject to the usual appeal procedures. As I confirmed in my last letter, the power of final judgement will be vested in the court of final appeal in the SAR.
I am returning Mr Freshwater's letter to you, a copy of which has been retained for our files.
172
Sex
The Rt Hon John Morris QC MP
House of Commons
London SW1A OAA
Pat
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