TNAG-1580-FCO40-2154-Extension-to-Hong-Kong-of-European-Community--European-Free-1987 — Page 72

CODE

Mr Canty, WIAD

W

INDE

Reference.

HKK 371/3

8 JUL 1986

PA

GISTRY

Takn

CPM 18.8.86

EC/EFTA RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGEMENT CONVENTION WORKING PARTY: EXTENSION TO DEPENDENT TERRITORIES

1.

We spoke, and you kindly agreed to attend a meeting to be held in my office tomorrow at 10.30 to consider, among other things, whether the UK should continue to press, in the negotiations for an EC/EFTA Convention parallel to the EC Judgements Conven- tion of 1968, for the unrestricted right to extend the Convention to any Dependent Territory, within Europe or outside.

2. I attach a copy of Mr Carpenter's (LCD) letter to me of 19 June. The issue of interest to you is dealt with in the second part of the letter beginning with the subheading "Final Clauses" at the foot of page 2. The first paragraph of this section also is not relevant, being concerned with the question whether the Convention should be kept open for later accession by third States. The Dependent Territory issue is considered in the passage beginning with the first full paragraph on page 3 of the letter. I have not copied also my letter of 2 June and Ian Mathers' letter of 28 May which are referred to by Mr Carpenter in the first paragraph of his letter. Briefly, Ian Mathers had questioned whether the Convention needed to be extendable to Dependent Territories anywhere, and whether indeed that was desirable in the case of places like Macao. I had suggested, as a compromise, that we could make it extendable to the European territories of the parties (like the 1968 Judgements Convention itself) with the right to extend else- where as well, but subject to a right of the State party to object to such extension so that it would not enter into effect for that party.

3. I am not copying all the documentation, but attach the following essential documents:

4.

(a) Article 60 of the 1968 Convention as amended by Article

27 of the UK Accession Convention 1978;

(b)

(c)

(a)

Draft Article 64 of the proposed EC/EFTA Convention;

The record of the EEC group meeting on 2 June on the extension issue;

The record of the EC/EFTA Working Party meeting 3-4 June on the same point.

Essentially the point at issue is how important is it to us that we should retain the right to extend the proposed Conven- tion to Dependencies outside Europe. I think it is certain that the capacity to extend to the European territories Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Gibraltar will be acceptable to all.