CONFIDENTIAL
PAYABM
川
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
J Dickinson Esq
Sec(0) (c)
Rm 5314
MOD
Main Building
Dear John.
Telephone 01- 270 2651
Your reference
Our reference HKK 011/3
Date 17 August 1987
486
HONG KONG CLAIMS AGAINST BRITISH FORCES
1.
We spoke recently on this subject and you kindly agreed that I should write to explain the problem to you in more detail; and that you would then pass it on to the relevant MOD authorities for consideration.
2.
The problem is one which affects the present day administration of Hong Kong; but more importantly, it has implications for the future administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) after 1997.
3.
The present legal position, as I understand it, is that civil claims against the British Forces in Hong Kong cannot be heard in the courts or labour tribunals of Hong Kong. This position arises from the terms of the Crown Proceedings Ordinance, Cap 300 of the Laws of Hong Kong (copy attached: see especially section 34(2)(b)). The effect of this provision is that a Hong Kong resident who wishes to take civil action against the British Forces must do so in the UK courts: although in practice it would obviously be unrealistic to expect the average Hong Kong resident to have the resources to institute legal proceedings here.
4.
So much for the present difficulty. However, there is also a longer term (and more important) aspect to this question. One area of special concern to Hong Kong will be the extent to which the Chinese garrison which will be stationed in Hong Kong after 1997 will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Hong Kong SAR. Under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong, the Chinese Government will draft a Basic Law detailing the constitutional arrangements
for the post-1997 Hong Kong "Special Administrative Region". Basic Law drafters have yet to reach a final view on this aspect of the Basic Law, but we should in due course wish to see a provision included to enable Hong Kong residents to take action in SAR courts (rather than in Chinese courts outside the SAR) against acts or omissions by the PLA garrison in Hong Kong.
The
CONFIDENTIAL