4.
4.1
4.2
Cohen suggested, which was agreed by the other participants, that the solution would be to propose to the French Government that Mr. Saniman be either extradited to Great Britain, or extradited to Hong Kong only for the purpose of his trial, any sentence pronounced against him being served in England with proper assurances on the part of the British Government that he would never be returned to Hong Kong especially after 1997.
The participants consider that such proposal could be at least prompt a serious examination of the request on the part of the French authorities and a possible favourable reaction. It is not unfrequent that guarantees be requested by a government prior to deciding on extradition matters e.g., with respect to extraditiona to the U.S.A., that the relevant authorities shall not apply death penalty. Professor Cohen was recently involved in a case of that sort involving the French Government and a US citizen. Assurances were given that death penalty would not be applied, and the individual was extradited.
The discussion then followed on the problems arising from uncertainties in determining the identity of both plaintiff and defendant.
The initial request for extradition was presented by the Governor of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong. The decision of the French Government, however, was notified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the British Embassy in Paris and it referred to a request presented by the English Government. The applicable extradition treaty is between France and Great Britain. A recourse, whether gracious or contentious, presented only by the Government of the Colony of Hong Kong would certainly be answered on the basis that such Government is not internationally recognised and that Hong Kong is, for international purposes, only a colony of Great Britain represented in its international relations by the British Government. I requested information on the status of Hong Kong in my fax to you of 17th April.
The participants considered that, be it only in order to avoid a lengthy debate on the status of the Colony and its rights of appearance in international matters and with respect to criminal matters, a request whether gracious or contentious should preferably be presented in the joint names of the British Government and the Hong Kong Government.
In view of a possible uneasiness on the part of the British Embassy, we discussed whether an intermediate solution would be acceptable e.g. the British Government or the British Embassy acting "on behalf" of the Hong Kong Government. We concluded that this would not solve the problem because the authority of the British Government or Embassy as agent ("mandataire") would depend on the capacity of the represented party l.a. the Hong Kong Government.
We discussed to or against which authority a recourse could be presented or lodged. The decree of extradition is normally signed by the President of the French Republic: in Mr. Saniman's case, the President may have been presented with a decree and have refused to sign it. The Ministry of Justice may also have