SUYAKA
FUTURE OF COMMONWEALTH WAR CEMETERIES IN HONG KONG : SUMMARY OF
PROPOSALS
SECURITY OF LAND TENURE
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The two CWGC war cemeteries (Stanley and Sai Wan) are held under
Deeds of Appropriation. Common features of both deeds are that *
(a) land remains vested in the Crown but is appropriated in
perpetuity as cemeteries under the control of the CWGC;
(b) appropriation of the land shall cease if land is no longer
used as a cemetery; and,
(c) Governor may resume the land for public purpose with reasonable compensation.
Hong Kong's Registrar-General advises that the Deeds are not
leases for the purposes of Annex III of the Joint Declaration. They
are in the nature of contracts between the Hong Kong Government and the CWGC. Hong Kong's Deputy Crown Solicitor's advice is that there is no reason why the Deeds should not remain valid after 1997 under
JD 53 and Article 159 of the draft Basic Law (texts attached).
However, it would be sensible to raise the matter with the
Chinese in order to ensure continuity after 1997. The Land
Commission rather than the JLG would be the appropriate forum.
It is envisaged that this question would be broached in the Land
Commission by way of a paper on land grants for private cemeteries.
The Land Commission will be asked to agree that in future land for
private cemeteries should be granted by way of Deeds of
Appropriation and that land grants for existing cemeteries, whether
by way of leases or Deeds of Appropriation, should remain
undisturbed.
The paper will explain that, in the past, Deeds of Appropriation
were used as a form of land grant documentation to make land