CONFIDENTIAL
W r amendments to the BNA unconnected with Hong Kong. Moreover,
because of the 10 year period of validity of passports, legislation
may well be necessary before 1987, to allow pasports that will
extend beyond 1997 to be issued in the new form. On the other hand
the nationality provisions of the agreement are without doubt its
most controversial aspects, and there is a danger that if they are
included in the Act the controversy they give rise to might delay
the enactment of the legislation. We cannot afford this, given the
time limit for ratification.
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In view of these factors the best procedure would be to include in
the Bill an enabling clause allowing later subordinate legislation.
This clause would confer powers to make provision about nationality
including powers to amend the British Nationality Act, as necessary
or expedient in consequence of termination of sovereignty and the ending of the lease. Rather than confer unqualified powers in this respect, the clause would confer powers with certain stated objects,
in particular removing Hong Kong from the list of dependent
territories, withdrawing British Dependent Territories Citizenship
from Hong Kong BDTCs and entitling them to acquire a new form of
nationality Provisions on nationality are usually set out in
detail in Independence Acts, but in the Cyprus Act 1960 this was
left to be done by the Order in Council, subject only to annulment
procedures in Parliament. There is therefore a precedent for
procedures for annulment only in this field. However substantive
provisions on nationality may be of such Parliamentary interest that pressure for a full affirmative procedure would be difficult to
resist. It could be explained that the nationality provisions would
be left to Order in Council because they involve detailed drafting
which would delay the Bill. If the pressure for such a clause on nationality in the Bill appeared likely to delay the Bill's passage
unnacceptably, it would have to be dropped from the Bill.
(c) Modifications of UK statutes in preparation for or consequent upon the ending of sovereignty and the lease would be dealt with in
the Bill by enabling clauses allowing the detailed modifications to
be made by Order in Council, or, insofar as a UK statute operates in
Hong Kong, by Hong Kong legislation. The Hong Kong legislation
would be subject to the normal controls including the power of
CONFIDENTIAL
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Private notes are available after approval.