CO129-541-1 Piracy- case of Rex v. Chung Tam Kwong 29-7-1932 - 3-2-1933 — Page 61

R V. CHUNG TAM KYONG & OTH RS

MMOTANDUM BY N

G. FIZZLAUKIC THIRD L GAL ADVIS R IT VIE FORZIGN OFFIC

•

1.

The Legal Adviser of the foreign Jffice

desire to offer observations on the following

questions:

(1) whether the Hong Kong Court was right, in

the above-mentioned onse, in deciding that an indictment for piracy jure gentium could not be sustained in the absence of actual robbery; with especial reference to the decided caseá;

**

(2) whether, if the indictment had been framed

under the statute 1 Viot. C.88, S.2. A conviction could have been obtained;

(3) whether there exists any o her basis on

which a conviction could have been ov ́ained;

*

(4) whether, if the answer to the first question is in the affirmative and the answer to the second and third in the negative, there would be anything contrary to international law in the passing of legislation designed to make convictions in cases such as the present one possible; and what in general would be he proper scope of such legiala- tion.

2.

I.

The question argued before the Hong Kong Court

how far international law forms part of the law of

Englund, and in particular how far the rules of inter-

national law relating to and defining piracy form

such part, appears to be largely irrelevant in the

present case, for the following reason.

International

law, as the Hong Kong Court correctly stated, does not

impose ...

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