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7.
From a purely legal
identified in paragraphs
suitable
provisions
point of view, the problems
5 and 6 suggest a case for
in our domestic legislation to provide
for:
(i)
some statutory
criteria, to come into effect as
from 1 July 1997, for allocating the 20% quota;
and
(ii)
the validity of acts done (after 30 June 1997) by
LegCo Members who are the subject of proceedings
under section 45 of Cap. 367 or section 44 of Cap.
381.
The
question is whether we should, in consultation with the
Chinese, prepare the necessary legislation for "mid-night
enactment", or whether we should, as we have said all
along, leave the entire matter to the Chinese to deal with
come 1 July 1997. A key constraint of the first approach
that any legislation before 1997 which seeks to
nationality restriction is most likely to be held
is
introduce
to be incompatible with Article 25(b) of the ICCPR which
provides
that every citizen (permanent resident] shall have
the right and
distinction
national
the opportunity, without any of the
mentioned in Article 2 (i.e. race, colour,
social origin etc) to "vote and to be elected
at genuine periodic elections......".
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