CODE 18-77
HKC 241/5
RECEN
Ms Major
#
HKD (WH 305)
~***. -
Reference.
5 NOV 1990
term out.
Amended term
UN CONVENTION ON TORTURE 1985: HONG KONG
que Bruz/il
1. I refer to your minute to Mr Broom of 30 October. Since our conversation yesterday I have given the matter some further thought. I do not, on reflection, think that it is necessary for the thirty day period to have elapsed before the Governor is empowered to make the legislation under section 2(b) of the Hong Kong (Legislative Powers) Order 1989. The requirements of section 2(b) will be satisfied by our notification to the Depositary of our wish to extend the Convention to Hong Kong.
2. It is however important that the Hong Kong Ordinance comes into force on the same day as the Convention enters into force for Hong Kong (ie thirty days after notification, not on the day of notification). I therefore suggest that the procedure should be as follows:
3.
(a) The Bill passes all stages in Legco except for
the Governor's assent;
(b) On the same day or as soon as possible thereafter,
UKMIS New York notify the UN Secretary General of the extension to Hong Kong:
(c) The Governor gives his assent;
(d) The Ordinance is published in the Gazette; it
contains a clause which says that it shall come into force on the date when the Torture Convention enters into force for Hong Kong;
(e) Thirty days after (b) the Convention enters into force for Hong Kong and the Ordinance comes into force;
(f) The date of (e) is notified in the Gazette.
The advantages of this method are that it would avoid an unusually long delay between passage through Legco and assent (it need only be one or two days), and it would also avoid any logistical difficulties arising from the inability of the Governor or UKMIS to carry out their respective procedures on a particular day.
14.
СВІААР