CONFIDENTIAL
PARAGRAPH 3 OF SCHEDULE: ADAPTATION OF LAWS
Paragraph 3 of the Schedule deals with the modification of United Kingdom Acts and subordinate legislation.
This paragraph enables Orders in Council to be made:
to repeal or
amend United Kingdom legislation in SO far
as it is part of the law of Hong Kong;
to enable the legislature of Hong Kong to repeal or amend
United Kingdom legislation in so far as it is part of the
law of Hong Kong and to legislate with extra-territorial
effect;
and to repeal or amend United Kingdom legislation which relates to Hong Kong.
Such provisions are normal when this country ceases to have
sovereignty over a territory. They are written in
independence acts, and although this Bill is of course different from an independence Bill, a similar provision is
would, of course, be inappropriate to
continue after 1997 to have references in the laws implying
the continuance of a constitutional relationship with the
United Kingdom.
necessary.
I t
provides agreement
for the
in
Since the
laws previously
force in Hong Kong to continue after I July 1997 it is important that Hong Kong should by then have a body of law
can stand on its own. The majority of Orders under
paragraph will therefore be to amend or replace UK
which
this
CONFIDENTIAL