TNAG-0943-FCO40-1162-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 63

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

!

constitutions and both, within a dependent tonitray lieve the force

# 1, las too in most circumstances, do Royal Instructions (the

exceptions are statutory).

"It is by virtue of the Prerogative in external affairs that jurisdiction has been acquired in territories outside Her Majesty's dominions; by s.1 Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890 the wide Frerogative in conquered or ceded Colonies is extended to the exercise of jurisdiction under that Act : (Roberts-Wray on Commonwealth and Colonial Law p.150).

The Crown has the power to extend its jurisdiction over a territory by Order in Council, provided that (as is the case in Hong Kong) in setting up a local legislative assembly it has reserved to itself a residual power to legislatė.

"Such extension (of its jurisdiction) may be referred

to an exercise of power by an Act of State, unchallenge- able in any British Court, or it may be attributed to statutory powers given by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890.......This Act thus appears to make the jurisdiction acquired by the Crown in a protected country indistinguishable in legal effect from what might be acquired by conquest" : per Viscount

Haldane Sobhuya II v. Miller 1926 AC at 523.

"Moreover the Crown cannot except by Statute

deprive itself of freedom to make Orders in Council, even when these are inconsistent with previous Orders" :

ibid at p.528.

(In that case, by a Convention of 1894 the Crown had

agreed to provide for the preservation of native law in Swaziland; in 1907 by Order in Council certain

native lands were expropriated contrary to native law; the expropriation was held valid.)

SECRET

Comments

Approved members can add comments, bookmarks, and private notes.

No comments yet.

Private Research Note

Private notes are available after approval.