Annex C (i)
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The Accompanying Notice
1.
In earlier discussions the Hong Kong
representatives proposed that a Notice issued by the
Supreme Court of Hong Kong should accompany the documents
from the Guangdong Courts when served in Hong Kong, in order
to explain the status of the documents and the steps which
the recipient might wish to take.
2.
Whether an accompanying Notice is served is
However, the
entirely a matter for the Hong Kong Court.
Chinese side have, during the talks, been shown proposed
Notices. Originally, this Notice spelt out that there was
no obligation under Hong Kong Law to respond and that, if
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recipients travel to China, their travel documents might be
retained until the case has been determined. The Chinese
side have never been happy with the Notice, especially with
the warnings, since they felt that their authority was
thereby undermined and that it was important to their system
that both sides be heard.
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3.
Although in the early talks it appeared that the
form and very fact of the proposed Notice was offensive to
the Guangdong side, they have recently proposed a Notice in
almost exactly similar terms which is to be served by them
when serving documents for Hong Kong.
4.
The form of Notice now proposed contains an
express disclaimer of responsibility and advises recipients