CONFIDENTIAL
R+R
pse
13
Hall 180tt нии
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
- 9 APR 1986
DES
DEX
·FFICER
PA
REGISTRY
Action Taken
fpa
Mr Bedford, HKD
FROM: PAUL FIFOOT
DATE
cc
DEPUTY LEGAL ADVISER 3 April 1986
Mr Lindley, IAD, DTp Miss White, CAA
Mr Morgan, MAED, FCO
Mr Hum, HKD
Mr Whomersley, Legal Advisers Mr Wood, Legal Advisers Miss Brooks, Legal Advisers
HONG KONG : LOCALISATION OF CIVIL AVIATION LEGISLATION
1.
This is a complicated matter and we will probably have to divide it up amongst legal advisers, and others.
2.
mouse.&.
There are two main aspects:-
a) the technical aviation aspect: there is a question whether, and to what extent, this Department, and the Department of Transport and the CAA will need to take an interest in the Hong Kong drafts insofar as they deal with this aspect;
b) the constitutional aspect (including external affairs) in which clearly the FCO have an interest and in which Mr Lindley also declares an interest.
It
3.
I think it may be helpful if you could arrange a meeting with Mr Lindley (and other interested officials) so that we can decide upon our particular interests and responsibilities. may be useful, however, if, at this early stage, I outlined the constitutional and external affairs problems.
4.
There are three different strands in this, dealing respectively with legislative powers, the legislation itself, and our continued responsibility for Hong Kong's external affairs.
a) So far as legislative power is concerned, it will
be necessary for the United Kingdom to confer on Hong Kong the power to repeal and amend UK enactments (including subsidiary legislation) in so far as it applies to Hong Kong and to make laws having external territorial operation. This we do under paragraph 3 of the Schedule to the Hong Kong Act 1985. There is a particular question (which arises in particular on paragraphs 3 and 5 of Hong Kong telno 632) whether the power to repeal or amend UK legislation applying to Hong Kong is one which can be conferred by Hong Kong legislation on the Governor in Council. The Hong Kong Act says no more than "enabling the Legislature of Hong Kong"!
b) From the point of view of adopting a code, as well as every other consideration of convenience, it would be desirable to legislate for civil aviation as a whole. (This does not exclude making exceptions for certain matters which for particular reasons it may be convenient to deal with
CONFIDENTIAL
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