TNAG-1383-FCO40-1831-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-citizenship-1985 — Page 274

E.R.

Mr Emery

B4 Division

CONFIDENTIAL

cc. Mr Hyde (o/r)

Mr Phillips

Mr Holmes Mr Moore

Mr Seymour

DRAFT HONG KONG (BRITISH NATIONALITY) ORDER 1985

I have been considering further the point made in paragraph 3 of

Hong Kong telegram no.681 of 4 April. They draw attention there to extension orders made under the Hijacking Act 1971 and the Protection of Aircraft Act 1973, the point being as I understand it

that it is at least questionable whether an order extending an Act

to overseas territories carries with it amendments made later to

the Act. While it is not unarguable that it does I think we should

try to put the matter beyond doubt, though I am not in favour of

operating directly on the extension orders. There may be any number of these, besides those which Hong Kong mentions, and I think it would be preferable to include a catch-all provision for this purpose. I should mention that the Hijacking Act and the Protection of Aircraft

Act have been replaced by the Aviation Security Act 1982 and there

is also the Civil Aviation Act 1971 (Overseas Territories) Order 1976

made under the Civil Aviation Act 1971 (see the last two items in the

Schedule to the draft Order), but the same point arises in connection

with those Acts.

2.

Extension orders of this kind were not specifically dealt with in the BNA 1981. That Act proceeded on the basis that the

consequential amendments made by Schedule 7 extended where appropriate

to the dependent territories (and also incidentally to Northern

Ireland, the Islands and the Associated States) by virtue of

section 53(4)-(6). You may remember that Parliamentary Counsel

expressed the view during the preparation of the Hong Kong Bill that

there was no need to include provisions about extent in the Bill (see the last paragraph of his letter dated 10 December 1984 to

the FCO), but it seems to me that there may be a good case for

doing so in our Order, bearing in mind that the 1981 Act and also the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983 did so.

CONFIDENTIAL

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