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ground between us which bodes well for the final outcome.
Para 6 states that in a large number of countries inter- national conventions do not automatically become part of the
law of the land. This is a constitutional question. There is no principle in United Kingdom law whereby international treaties and conventions ratified by the UK automatically become part of the UK's domestic law. Our practice is
instead to consider before ratification whether our law
adequately fulfils the obligations which we are about to assume; and if it does not, to alter the law so that if conforms to our obligations. The United Kingdom's ability to ratify any international instrument rests upon the fact that the obligations of those instruments are already secured by our law, subject to the reservations and derogations that were made upon signature or ratification. The obligation of the States parties to a Convention, in this case the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, is to apply the provisions of the Convention and/or Protocol. Whether it is, for this purpose, necessary to make the Convention part of the law of the land is of course a matter entirely for the acceding states
themselves.
I was glad to hear in his excellent speech M Jaeger's account of the progress made in discussions between Her Majesty's Government and UNHCR on the question of concessionary passports for Rhodesians.
It has been suggested to the British authorities that Rhodesian refugees might apply for Convention travel documents rather than concessionary passports. The British authorities have replied that they would not oppose this proposal although they would still recommend that those who are eligible for concessionary passports, for example, genuine political refugees, should apply for them instead.
British authorities have recently relaxed their criteria for the issue of concessionary passports by no longer requiring the production of birth certificates. In many cases a baptismal certificate or other approved document is sufficient and the passport-issuing authorities now exercise considerable
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