TNAG-1874-FCO40-2665-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-other-British-Dependent-Terr-1989 — Page 18

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financial sector, and was able to claw back some responsibility. Mr Turner pointed out that to date only one bank had been

established in BIOT.

However a system of generating revenue. only had one bank.

It was permitted to operate without a license. licensing might soon be introduced as a means of Miss Anderson said that the Falklands similarly

However, There seemed no threat of a stampede.

legislation would soon be passed vesting the licensing authority in

the Governor.

7. Mr Moody referred to the current interest in Gibraltar joining the OECD. Apparently the US had already investigated the question of membership for the US Virgin Islands. Legal Advisers had counselled that it would be difficult to extend membership to DTS. Mr Gibby replied that it had taken two years to establish that the OECD Convention did not apply to the Channel Islands or the DTs. No DT other than Gibraltar had so far expressed a wish to join, though

Jersey was particularly interested. There were essentially three problems. We needed to explore further the procedure for membership; we should analyse the implications of membership for

DTS, which were currently not clear;

and we should take account of

the interests of the member countries. Mr Gibby undertook to look

into these matters with a view to a more detailed discussion at the

September DTLG meeting.

Item 3

Constitutional matters

8.

Mr Wallace introduced his paper (copy attached). He explained that the paper was most relevant to the DTs for which WIAD was

responsible. It did not address the question of whether

constitutional advance should be permitted in those Territories

whose constitutional structure was least developed (eg Caymans) to

enable them to catch up. The 1987 Policy Review had not been clear

on this latter point. Mr Wallace's personal view was that

constitutional advance should be permitted in such cases as long as

it fell short of encroaching on normal reserved powers. Paragraph 2 of his paper addressed the difficulties of implementing the 1987 Policy Review line. Paragraph 3 set out the minimum reserved powers

which HMG must retain. The survey of DT Constitutions, referred in paragraph 4(i) should include a review of financial provisions.

RIAAD/4

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