From The Minister of State
Richard Luce MP
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
15 March 1985
Dear John.
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. The agreement does not however say which court in the SAR will be the court of final appeal on questions concerning the interpretation of the Basic Law. This will have to be resolved Tater.
I am returning Mr Freshwater's letter to you, a copy of which has been retained for our files.
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The Rt Hon John Morris QC MP
House of Commons
LONDON
SW1A OAA
8
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