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instructions.
(d) Our Lawyers advise that HMG and HKG should not yet submit a dossier to the Conseil d'Etat. We should rely instead on the Justice Ministry (who ironically should defend the extradition decree against Saniman). If it becomes clear that the Justice Ministry's defence is unsatisfactory, Mme Masse - acting on behalf of HMG and the Governor of Hong Kong - might submit our case directly to the Conseil d'Etat. But it would be the first time that a foreign government had defended an extradition decree in France, and might take the Conseil d'Etat months or years to judge whether this was admissible.
4.
If Saniman's appeal is to have any chance of success, it must focus either on the form of the extradition decree or on the status of Hong Kong after 1997. On the former, we are seeking a copy of the decree from the Justice Ministry. On the latter, our Lawyers will require further background and assurances (along the lines of the paper which the Solicitor General sent to Justice Minister Mehaignerie, but in more detail) to submit if necessary. Grateful if Hong Kong could pursue directly with us or with Bertolas.
MALLABY
YYYY
DISTRIBUTION
36
ΜΑΙΝ
34
HKD
WED
NTCD
LEGAL ADVISERS//MR CHAMBERLAIN LEGAL ADVISERS//MRS GLOVER
HOMS//SIR C MALLABY NEWS D
CONSULAR D
INFO D
ADDITIONAL
2
AGC//MR HILL, LSLO
WOOLER,
CATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE)
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