suited to carry out such work because, inter alia, it is able to liaise effectively with the various departments with responsibility for particular areas of legislation indeed, Guo Fengmin has advised that if the PRC was required to carry out such work it would take its lawyers "100" years. or more to complete,
(e)
the adaptation of laws exercise was almost
entirely technical in nature, and
(f) any declaration by the Standing Committee of the sort contemplated by the NCNA would be highly undesirable, especially from the point of view of stability in Hong Kong.
3.
Supplementary observations were made by Mr. Allcock and Mr. Yuen on the basis of their own work on the adaptation of laws. Mr. Edwards also indicated that a series of consultation papers will be prepared for the JLG and that the first of these may be ready by the end of this year. He added that matters might be facilitated if a permanent Sub-group of the JLG could be established on the same basis as the existing IRO Sub-group.
4.
Anthony agreed to convey this information to the relevant people in the NCNA, adding that he found the programme as explained to him to be very impressive. He further agreed that the adaptation of laws work being done within Chambers would almost certainly eliminate the need for the Standing Committee of the NPC to make any declaration of the sort specified in Article 160. He added, however, that two areas of Hong Kong law with "political significance", namely the Bill of Rights Ordinance and laws relating to elections would probably be singled out as exceptions and possibly made the object of a Standing Committee
declaration.
5.
Anthony further advised that the NCNA will probably not