TNAG-1519-FCO40-2080-Employment-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 42

CODE 18-771

Mr Garcia

3

Reference...

16/05 190185

23/1

DENUNCIATION OF ILO CONVENTION NO. 94: POSITION REGARDING NON-METROPOLITAN

TERRITORIES

1.

As I understand it the view given by this office has always been that as declarations of application of conventions to non-metropolitan territories can be made only in respect of conventions ratified by the metropolitan Member State it must follow that denunciation by the Member State must also release any non- metropolitan territory from obligations assumed under any declarations made by the Member State in respect of that territory. I see no reason to depart from that advice at the present time parti cularly in view of the absence of any information as to the basis for the ILO's view that there is no such automatic

release from obligations for non-metropolitan territories.

2.

I would have expected that if a Member's obligations in respect of its non-metropolitan territories were to be left unaffected by denunciation of the Convention then the Convention itself would contain separate provisions for the denunciation of those obligations. In my view Convention 94 does not contain

any such separate provision. Article 14 is simply concerned with the denunciation of the Convention, and Article 12(4) and 13(3) only provide for the further modification of former declarations at the time at which the Convention is subject to denunciation (which I think must mean of the time the "window" is open not as I previously suggested at the time of denunciation by the Member State). I do not think that the wording of either Article 12(4) or 13(3) indicates that the termination of all obligations under the Convention is contemplated.

3.

-

The whole subject is of course fraught with difficulty because the

wording of the Constitution and Convention is far from clear. However as I have already indicated I think it would be unwise to depart from the position we have always adopted without knowing the ILO's arguments. I have made a slight

amendment to Mr Kennard's draft.

Чии Кешал тач

TAZ

Am

vanis on

this ?

enti

A. LEALE

(for the Solicitor)

28 April 1983

были ваше

2814

!