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"We welcome the Bar Council's recognition that it would be desirable to set up the CFA before 1997, and its statement that it would support a Bill establishing a CFA that conforms with the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. We have drafted the CFA Bill on the basis of the agreement reached at the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG) in September 1991, which the British and Hong Kong Government are satisfied that it is consistent with the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. We have given the Chairman of the Bar Association a copy of an authoritative statement explaining HMG's view that the agreement on the composition of the CFA reached in the JLG in September 1991 is compatible with the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. The British Government draws legal advice from a variety of sources and is satisfied that its advice on the CFA issue is drawn from the best available sources, inside or outside the Government. We cannot agree that the provisions in the draft Bill on composition, which are based on the JLG agreement, are inconsistent with the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.
"We also fail to see the basis on which the Bar Council concludes that the CFA Bill does not provide for the preservation after 1997 of any CFA set up before that date. The whole purpose of the 1991 JLG agreement was to establish a CFA before 1997 that would continue in being beyond 1997. Article 93 of the Basic Law clearly provides that members of the Judiciary serving before July 1, 1997 may remain in employment after that date. There may be a need for some validation or appointment procedures, e.g. new Oaths in 1997, but there is no reason to believe that these would affect the continued employment of any judges.
"We are pleased to note that the Bar Council and some members of the Bar have made comments on the technical aspects of the Bill. But we are extremely surprised that the Bar Council should give as one of its reasons for advising members of the Bar to reject the Bill the fact that they consider technical amendments need to be made to it. The whole purpose of our consulting the legal profession was to seek their views on the technical and practical aspects of the draft Bill. We will give the comments careful consideration once the Bar Association sends them to us.