TNAG-1866-FCO40-2650-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legal-issues-1989 — Page 27

TOMAPB

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

SE Bradley

Deputy Political Adviser

Government Secretariat

HONG KONG

Dear Stephen.

VARIOUS LEGAL ISSUES

Telephone 01-

270 2655

Your reference

FILE

4

Our reference

НКВ 012/9

HKB 012/9

Date

10 February 1989

歩く

and mouth

ертер

1.

I wrote the Bob Peirce on 28 March 1988 concerning the possibility of the UK having a mutual legal assistance with the PRC. In para 3 of that letter, I referred to the question of arrangements to guarantee that fugitive offenders returned to Hong

I undertook to Kong would not be transferred onwards to the PRC. revert on the question of a formula given to me by Chris Newall when I was in Hong Kong last March, (copy enclosed for ease of reference).

2.

Legal Advisers have now looked at the "Newall formula" and

We believe it to be a good starting point for further thought. should be grateful if the Hong Kong Government lawyers could now look at it again and let us know how thinking develops.

3. At the same time, we should point out that the formula deals only with the situation where fugitives are returned to Hong Kong before 30 June 1997 and are still serving their sentences after that date. We shall need also to address the situation where requests are made after 30 June 1997 (or where trials take place after that date) to prevent rendition to another part of the PRC. It may be possible to deal with the whole problem in one formula, both with the Chinese and in Hong Kong-negotiated extradition treaties. We should welcome views.

4.

You will recall that these issues were also addressed in some of the various papers prepared by Henry Steel (Legal Advisers) which have been forwarded to Hong Kong with Tom Smith's letter of 18 November 1987 to Norman Chan ("Civil Law: co-operation with other jurisdictions") and mine to Bob Peirce referred to above. We should be interested to learn how thinking is developing on the problems of requests by Hong Kong for the return of fugitives. is of course in this context that the problem of not transferring prisoners onwards to the PRC arises.

It

CONFIDENTIAL