IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION
THE Sino-British Joint Declaration on the question of Hong Kong was signed in Beijing on December 19, 1984, by the Prime Ministers of Britain and China. On May 27, 1985, instruments of ratification were exchanged and the agreement entered into force. It was registered at the United Nations by the British and Chinese Governments on June 12, 1985.
The Documents
The Joint Declaration is a legally binding international agreement. Indeed it is the highest form of commitment between sovereign states. It consists of several documents:
(a) the Joint Declaration itself;
(b) Annex I, in which the Chinese Government establishes its basic policies
towards Hong Kong;
(c) Annex II, which sets out the terms of reference and the working arrangements for the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG) which will operate until January 1, 2000;
(d) Annex III, which provides for the protection of land rights and for future land leases. It also establishes the Land Commission, which will operate until June 30, 1997; and
(e) an exchange of memoranda associated with the Joint Declaration on the status
of British Dependent Territories Citizens.
The Joint Declaration
In the Joint Declaration, the Government of the People's Republic of China declares that it has decided to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong with effect from July 1, 1997, and the Government of the United Kingdom declares that it will restore Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China with effect from July 1, 1997. The Government of the People's Republic of China declares that the basic policies of the PRC towards Hong Kong are that:
(a) Hong Kong shall be a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's
Republic of China;
(b) the Hong Kong SAR (HKSAR) will be directly under the authority of the Central People's Government and will enjoy a high degree of autonomy except in foreign and defence affairs;
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