TNAG-0991-FCO40-1210-Policy-on-salaries-and-pensions-for-civil-service-in-Hong-Ko-1980 — Page 324

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force) is to the Colonial Regulations, and that to this extent they

are in the nature of subordinate legislation". The case in question

is where Letters Patent empower a Governor to exercise disciplinary authority over persons in Her Majesty's service in accordance with Her

Majesty's Instructions. I have not studied the forms of Letters Patent used in other colonies, but presume a different formula from that in use in Hong Kong has elsewhere been employed. Here, the Governor is empowered to suspend, discipline etc. "Subject to such instructions as may from time to time be given", i.e. in Hong Kong, whatever the position elsewhere, our Letters Patent do not contemplate that instructions are required to be given to the Governor on the matter of discipline. N.J. Miners in his book "The Government and Politics of Hong Kong" (p.57) concludes that the Colonial Regulations are not legally binding on the Governor, in the sense that he could be called to account or that

the courts could interfere with his actions if he failed to obey them.

He notes that in practice "guidance" given by a superior is little different from a direct order, and that in reality the Hong Kong Government adheres to the detail of these rules except where they have been specifically

relaxed.

Sir Charles Jeffries (a former Deputy Under-Secretary of

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the Colonial Office) understands differently. At p. 35 he writes

"The Governor must, therefore, conform to the directions of the United Kingdom Government, which are

normally conveyed to him by the Secretary of State

for the Colonies. If a Governor were to refuse or

fail to conform to such direction, he would have to resign or be removed from his office by the Crow."

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Of the Colonial Regulations, which he nicely describes as the embodiment of the things a Colonial Governor cannot do without sanction from the Secretary of State, Sir Charles states that as directions given by the Crown they are binding on Governors except as relaxed or modified by the Secretary of State in particular cases. In my opinion this is the better, and certainly the more realistic, view. The fact is however, that the

5.

"Transfer of Power.

problems of the passage to self-government" 1960.

J