WOZAPC
(b) SMOOTH TRANSFER: LOCALISATION OF LEGISLATION
A large body of British legislation (list attached) has been
directly applied to Hong Kong. This includes Acts of Parliament,
Orders in Council and other instruments such as Royal Warrants.
These laws would lapse in 1997, leaving substantial gaps in the SAR
statute book.
It is thus necessary to reenact in Hong Kong as local legislation
those Acts and subsidiary instruments which are still relevant to
Hong Kong. They would then be able to continue in force beyond 1997
in accordance with Section II of Annex I to the Joint Declaration.
In essence, the process of localisation simply involves the reenactment of existing legislation. However, the opportunity is also being taken to modernise the laws where necessary.
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Agreement has been reached with the Chinese authorities in the Joint
Liaison Group on the principles to be followed in the localisation
exercise, and the areas on which the Chinese authorities will need
to be consulted. The first piece of localised legislation, relating
to admiralty jurisdiction, has already been enacted. Following
agreement at the twelfth meeting of the JLG in Peking (14-17 March),
we expect that further legislation, relating to merchant shipping, will be introduced into Hong Kong's Legislative Council shortly. Discussions are continuing on legislation in the civil aviation
field.
The process of localisation will no doubt continue for many years.
Other areas that will need to be covered include extradition, court
proceedings and certain aspects of the criminal law.
There will also be a need for an "adaptation of laws" exercise, to
take account of China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty
over Hong Kong; of China's future responsibility for Hong Kong's defence and foreign affairs; and of the provisions of the Basic Law on the institutions and machinery of government. Some changes will
be relatively straightforward (eg enabling references to the
Governor to be replaced by references to the Chief Executive).
But
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