Mr Soper ERD
KC371/1
28 APR 1999
FILE
Reference
MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE: GUIDANCE NOTE FOR CASE WORKING OFFICERS IN THE UK CENTRAL AUTHORITY: HONG KONG
1.
As you know, Hong Kong is in the process of setting up a series of bilateral drug trafficking agreements. If mutual legal assistance requests concerning Hong Kong were made in connection with drug matters, they should be dealt with under that network if possible. Would you need to make this clear
to case working officers?
2.
As far as non-drug related mutual legal assistance is concerned, if Hong Kong is covered by a UK agreement with a third country, there is no particular sensitivity about assistance being sought from Hong Kong. If, however, in the future, the UK were to have a mutual legal assistance agreement with China, we should want to be consulted about any request from China involving Hong Kong.
3. Finally, as you are also aware, Hong Kong hopes to begin negotiating its own mutual legal assistance agreements once we have Chinese agreement. Once this begins, the same argument as in paragraph 1 above would apply ie request for. assistance should be channelled to Hong Kong under their own bilateral agreement wherever such an agreement exists.
выпере
P A Major (Ms)
Hong Kong Department
WH305
270 2655
25 April 1991
CC:
Miss Brooks, Legal Advisers
Mr Dance, NTCD
Consular Department
Miss Bourne, ERD
CODE 18-77
RIDAKC CC