TNAG-1866-FCO40-2650-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legal-issues-1989 — Page 31

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr. Wood

or

Mr Wood

Hong Kong Department

WH 304

CE 19

19/1

From:

DM Edwards

Legal Advisers

Date: 18 January 1989

A..

FUTURE OF HONG KONG:

VARIOUS LEGAL ISSUES

1. Thank you for passing the attached papers to me. You asked for my views as to whether we need to take action now on any of the matters on the file. I have the following

comments:

(A)

(B)

Extradition

(i) No action needs to be taken now on Mr Steel's minutes of 24 April and 16 June 1987. But once Hong Kong is authorised to begin extradition negotiations on the basis of the model agreement now "agreed" with the Chinese, we should remind Hong Kong of the contents of these two minutes.

(ii) On the point raised in paragraph 3 of your letter of 28 March 1988 to Mr Peirce (Deputy Political Adviser) and the two draft paragraphs at Flag E about not transferring prisoners onwards to the PRC, I think it would be as well to remind Mr Stock about this. You will recall that Hong Kong are now looking at the problems of requests by Hong Kong for the return of fugitives and it is in this context, of course, that the problem arises.

Civil Law: Co-operation with other Jurisdictions

I have two points:

(1) Was any further work done on the points sidelined X and Y (see paragraphs 2 and 4 of Mr Smith's letter of 18 November 1987 to Mr Chan). If not,

I will have a word with Mr Fifoot to see can reach a firm view.

if we

(ii) I think we might write to Norman Chan quite soon (say in a couple of months) reminding him of the letter of 18 November 1987 and asking him how Hong Kong are getting on. I see the problem as basically a Hong Kong one it is they who

-

will need relevant and workable arrangements with the authorities of their main customer countries in the civil law field. In this connection, Mr Steel sets out the steps which Hong Kong will need to take in paragraph 8 et seq of his minute of 16 June 1987. UK responsibilities here are of a

mechanical nature, once Hong Kong has decided what

it wants.

CONETDENOTAT

.../(C)