Mkn 38413 нко
Tel art.
Mr Wood Enterp. AwYou
Hong Kong Department
RESTRICTED
From:
Date:
Mr D M Edwards
Legal Advisers
K 159
270 3058
15 August 1989
45
EXTRADITION ACT 1989:
HONG KONG TELNO 2683
(46)
45.
1.
Please refer to your note to me on Hong Kong telno 2683 of 10 August. I have consulted my colleague Mr MacLeod, departmental Legal Adviser to Nationality and Treaty Department who, as you know, deals with extradition matters.
2. The Extradition Act (it became an Act on 27 July 1989 and will enter into force on 27 September 1989) will not, as such, affect the existing arrangements. Such arrangements will continue to operate as before in so far as they have been extended to Hong Kong. Changes in the law effected by the Act will only take effect in a dependent territory if extended to that territory by Order in Council. Paragraph 2 of Hong Kong telno 2683 is therefore correct.
3. The UK intends to become a party to the European Convention on Extradition (copy attached). In accordance with Article 27 of the Convention, the Convention applies to the metropolitan territory of the Contracting Parties. However, as you will see, paragraph 4 of Article 27 makes provision for the Covention to be extended to any territory for whose international relations a Contracting Party is responsible "by direct arrangement" between that Contracting Party and the other Contracting Parties. Mr MacLeod tells me that the policy on this has not yet been finally settled, but it is very likely that the UK will ratify the Convention soon in respect of the UK itself, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Thereafter the dependent territories will be consulted and "added in" as appropriate. In addition, it is intended that the UK should make a reservation under Article 28 of the Convention providing that our bilateral Conventions remain in place in so far as they relate to extradition to and from the dependent territories.
RESTRICTED
/4.