TNAG-1365-FCO40-1811-Hong-Kong-Legislative-Council-(Powers-and-Privileges)-Bill-1-1985 — Page 22

HK 2 ADH

BACKGROUND

CONFIDENTIAL

CALL ON MR LUCE BY MR JOHN MORRIS QC MP

1215 MONDAY 24 JUNE

B

1.

The background to the LEGCO (Powers and Privileges) Bill is

summarised in Mr Galsworthy's submission to the Private Secretary of

14 June.

C 2. We expect (but await confirmation from the Hong Kong Government

which we shall pass to you before Mr Luce's meeting with Mr Morris)

that the Bill will proceed as scheduled to its Committee Stage and

+ Third Reading on 26 June, and that if passed will then receive the

Governor's assent. The Hong Kong Government intends to make further

amendments to the Bill at the Committee stage: it nevertheless

anticipates that, while media interest in the Bill has subsided

somewhat, the decision to proceed will give rise to some criticism

in Hong Kong.

3. The amendments that Hong Kong Government now intends will meet

part of "Justice's" concerns on Clauses 8 (3) and 19 (A). The Hong

Kong Government does not intend to amend Clauses 8(2) or 23 as

"Justice" and others have requested: Hong Kong consider the further

amendments that have been requested to these two clauses to be

Legally and constitutionally inappropriate.

CONFIDENTIAL