CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 921
OF 25095OZ MARCH 91
CONFIDENTIAL
HKD 340/4
RECEIVED
16 APR 1991
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
TOP COPY Q DIST?
138
017665 MDHIAN 9415
Submi
P
YOUR TELNO 558 : BRITISH NATIONALITY ACT: HONG KONG BAR ASSOCIATION
1. WE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THE HONG KONG BAR ASSOCIATION WOULD LIKE SOME FORM OF CATEGORICAL COMMITMENT FROM US TOWARDS BARRISTERS. HOWEVER, AS EXPLAINED IN OUR TELNO 680, WE DO NOT CONSIDER THE ASSOCIATION'S PROPOSAL ACCEPTABLE. NOR ARE WE YET IN A POSITION TO SPECIFY HOW SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES (SC) POINTS MIGHT BE APPLIED TO CATER FOR BARRISTERS, IF APPROPRIATE.
2. OUR PRESENT THINKING IS THAT SC POINTS, WHERE THERE IS A CASE FOR THEIR AWARD, SHOULD BE AWARDED TO AN IDENTIFIED GROUP OF APPLICANTS RATHER THAN TO INDIVIDUAL APPLICANTS. TO DETERMINE WHETHER SC POINTS SHOULD BE GIVEN, WE WOULD COMPARE THE SUCCESS RATE (BEING DEFINED AS THE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS OVER THE TOTAL NUMBER OF APPLICANTS) OF AN OCCUPATION WITHIN AN OCCUPATIONAL GROUP (OG) WITH THAT OF THE ENTIRE OG. IN THE CASE OF A MARKED DISPARITY, WE WOULD THEN EXAMINE THE PROFILE OF THE APPLICANTS TO ASSESS IF SC POINTS WOULD BE JUSTIFIED. IN THE PROCESS, WE WOULD TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION REPRESENTATIONS MADE.
3. OBVIOUSLY, WE WOULD NOT WISH TO BE TIED TO A COURSE OF ACTION, WHICH MIGHT BECOME INAPPROPRIATE, HAVING REGARD TO ACTUAL DATA GENERATED BY COMPUTERS ON APPLICATIONS RECEIVED. IT MAY EVEN BE THAT BARRISTERS ARE ALREADY SO COMPETITIVE, DESPITE THEIR LOSS ON UK CONNECTIONS POINTS, THAT AWARD OF SC POINTS WOULD NOT BE NECESSARY. WE SHOULD THEREFORE BE GRATEFUL IF MR ROGERS WOULD NOT
BE PROVIDED WITH THE INFORMATION IN PARAGRAPH 2.
4. REVERTING TO MR ROGERS' REPRESENTATION, WE DO NOT ACCEPT HIS ARGUMENT THAT AWARD OF SC POINTS WOULD NOT HELP THE CASE OF BARRISTERS (HIS FIFTH PARAGRAPH). HIS UNDERLYING ARGUMENT IS FLAWED. AWARD OF SC POINTS, INCLUDING THE NUMBER OF POINTS TO BE AWARDED, IS DISCRETIONARY. THERE IS NO ENTITLEMENT TO THE MAXIMUM OF 150 POINTS.
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