TNAG-1379-FCO40-1827-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-Hong-Kong-Bill-1985 — Page 209

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Subsection

1(2) provides for this clause of the Bill to come into

force on the exchange of instruments of ratification, which

paragraph 8 of

Joint Declaration states must take place before

30 June 1985. The exact date on which instruments of ratification

will be exchanged is not yet known, and will depend both on the date

on which this Bill receives Royal Assent, and on the date when the

Chinese are ready to ratify. The date of the exchange of

instruments of ratification will

ratification will be notified in the London Gazette

of State being presented with

in order to avoid the Secretary

repeated requests to certify that date, eg for the purposes of

litigation in the UK courts

We

Some members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong remain convinced that we should deal with the termination of sovereignty by a clause enabling an Order in Council

to be made at a later stage, perhaps much nearer to 1997. This was an option that we considered earlier

in discussion with EXCO. We

were well aware of the presentational advantages in Hong Kong of withholding the Order until after the

publication by the Chinese Government of the Basic Law for Hong

Kong, which mus t enshrine the provisions of the agreement.

accordingly considered a scheme whereby ratification preceded an Order in Council divesting the UK of sovereignty. The Attorney

General however advised that such a scheme was acceptable if (but

only if) the Order was not in any way subject to Parliamentary

approval. The parliamentary managers agree that Parliament could

indeed seek to retain control by making the Order subject to

affirmative or negative procedures. Ministers therefore decided to deal with the termination of sovereignty by a clause in the Bill

itself.

Presentation apart, there is no practical difference

between the two possible courses.

If the Chinese

including its

s ome fundamental breach of the agreement Parliament

to repeal the Hong Kong Act, termination of sovereignty. This would have the

declining to approve an Order in Council.

however very unlikely to arise.

Given the

we re to commit

could be asked

provisions for

s ame effect as

Such а situation is

inevitability of the

reversion to China of the New Territories in 1997, it is also hard

to

see what our action would achieve.

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