SUPPLEMENTARY MEMORANDUM ON PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE
SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION OF 1984 ON HONG KONG (FCO/FAC/9/89)
1.
The Committee might appreciate clarification and amplification
of some points which arose in the course of the Secretary of State's
oral evidence to the Committee on 22 March. The relevant paragraph
numbers of the Minutes of evidence are indicated for ease of
reference.
Timetable for finalising Basic Law (paragraphs 11 to 13)
2. The timetable for drafting the Basic Law as agreed upon by the
Basic Law Drafting Committee at the outset of the drafting process
envisaged that there would be two drafts, each followed by a
consultation process, and that the text produced as the result of
the second consultation process would be the final version. The
current period of consultation in Hong Kong comes to an end in July.
Thereafter the second draft will be recommitted to the Basic Law
Drafting Committee's sub-groups for reconsideration of the sections
relevant to their interests. It will then be reconsidered in
plenary by the Basic Law Drafting Committee and submitted to the
National People's Congress for final approval and promulgation in
1990.
Localisation of Legislation and a possible Bill of Rights (paragraph 29)
3. The process of localisation refers to the re-enactment in Hong
Kong of UK statutes which have been directly applied to Hong Kong
and which would otherwise lapse in 1997, leaving gaps in Hong Kong's
statutes. Localisation is not concerned with codifying existing
practices, including the common law, which would be one of the purposes of a Bill of Rights if such were introduced. The possible
introduction of a Bill of Rights would not of course be part of the
localisation process.