CO129-610-5 Marriages solemnized in Stanley Camp during the Japanese occupation and subsequent legislation for divorce 14-2-1947 - 27-6-1947 — Page 46

Wt. 29446/552 9/46 50m. S. & S. Ltd.

C. O.

Miss Whyte 19/5

54185/47.

45

Mr..

Galsworthy 21/5

Roberts Wray 73

Mr.

Permt. U.S. of S.

Mr.

Salowonly 23/5 atur

Mr..

Parly. U.S. of S.

Secretary of State.

94.5.47

DRAFT.

0. A. G.

HONG KONG,

393

SAVINGRAM.

NO.

(2)

FURTHER ACTION.

CONFIDENTIAL

My Confidential telegram No. 807 of

17th May.

Internment, Camp Divorces.

Maems

The following are the pounds for

the advice in para. 1 of my Confidential

telegram No. 007 that,except where the

husband was, at the time of the divorce

proceedings, domiciled in Hong Hong, an

Ordinance purporting to validate the decrees

would amount to an attempt to amend the

Indian and Colonial Divorce Jurisdiction

Acts and would therefore be null and void:-

(a) Ir the parties to the divorce were

not domiciled in Hong Kong, the Court had no

jurisdiction except by virtue of the Indian

and Colonial Divorce Jurisdiction Acts, 1926

and 1940, as applied to Hong Kong by the

Hong Kong Divorce Jurisdiction Order in

Council,

1935. The Act as so applied

confers jurisdiction in such cases on "the

Supreme Court of Hong Kong". The validity of

the divorce is open to question mainly by

reason of doubt as to whether the Supreme

Court was, at that time, competent to

pronounce decrees; and the Act must

necessarily refer to a properly constituted

Court,