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YOUR TELNO 2949: LETTER FROM THE EARL OF WINCHILSEA : STATUS OF PRISONERS AFTER 1997 · DRAFT REPLY
ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRANSFER OF PRISONERS OR RENDITIONS OF FUGITIVES AFTER 1997, INDEED, HAVE YET TO BE DISCUSSED AND NEGOTIATED.
2. YOUR DRAFT REPLY TO THE EARL OF WINCHILSEA MAKES REFERENCE TO A NUMBER OF PROVISIONS IN THE DRAFT BASIC LAW. WE WOULD PREFER TO OMIT THESE REFERENCES BECAUSE THEY ARE DRAFTS AND DO NOT HAVE A FORMAL STATUS UNTIL THE BASIC LAW IS ENACTED IN 1990. THERE IS THUS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE TEXTS OF THE DRAFT ARTICLES WILL NOT BE CHANGED BEFORE THEN.
3. HOWEVER, IF YOU CONSIDER IT ESSENTIAL TO REFER TO DRAFT BASIC LAW ARTICLES, WE WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OUR COMMENTS ON PARAGRAPHS 1 AND 5 IN YOUR DRAFT REPLY
(A) PARAGRAPH 1
...
THE QUOTATION OF PARA 2 OF DRAFT ARTICLE 2 OF CHAPTER X OF THE BASIC LAW IS INCORRECT, IN THAT IT OMITS THE WORDS QUOTE DOCUMENTS, CERTIFICATES, CONTRACTS
UNQUOTE. FURTHERMORE, ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS ON THE OUTCOME OF THE LATEST MEETING OF THE BLDC SPECIAL GROUP ON THE POLITICAL SYSTEM THAT PARAGRAPH HAS BEEN OMMITTED FROM ALL OF THE THREE ALTERNATIVE FORMULAE PROPOSED BY MEMBERS OF THE SPECIAL GROUP AND WHICH WOULD BE SET OUT IN THE REPORT TO BLDC VI. IN THE LIGHT OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES WE SUGGEST THIS QUOTATION BE DELETED ALTOGETHER. ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER MAKING A REFERENCE TO DRAFT ARTICLE 8 OF CHAPTER I, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE QUOTE LAWS PREVIOUSLY IN FORCE UNQUOTE, OR TO DRAFT ARTICLE 2 OF SECTION 4 OF CHAPTER IV, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE PREVIOUS JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
(B) PARAGRAPH 5
WE ARE SLIGHTLY NERVOUS ABOUT THE REFERENCE TO DRAFT ARTICLE 16 OF CHAPTER III OF THE BASIC LAW BECAUSE, AS YOU KNOW, WITHOUT THE ADDITIONAL ARTICLE SUGGESTED IN PARA 1 OF OUR TELNO 3705, ARTICLE
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