Ms Coglin, HKD
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From:
HKB 010/4
0 5 7 1990
མི་
Paul Fifoot Legal Advisers
Date: 3 October 1990
SECRETARY OF STATE'S RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO APPOINTMENTS IN HONG KONG
1.
Save as may be provided as regards specific offices by a Hong Kong ordinance, the power to appoint public officers in the Hong Kong Service is vested in the Governor by Article XIV of the Letters Patent. That power, as with every other power of the Governor, is subject to any instructions given by the Secretary of State under Article II of the Letters Patent and Colonial Regulations are directions given within the scope of the power to give such instructions. The Secretary of State does not himself have the power to make appointments (unless there is a provision in Hong Kong law as regards a specific office), but under Regulation 19 of Colonial Regulations he has the function of approving appointments to "any office or grade prescribed" by himself. So far as appointments to the generality of offices are concerned, therefore, what is at issue here is which offices are to be prescribed for the future for the purposes of Regulation 19.
2.
It would seem to be envisaged both by ourselves in 1985 and by the Hong Kong Government now that the Secretary of State should retain the power of approval in relation to heads of branch, departments, or equivalent agencies of the Hong Kong Government and, if I understand it correctly, the Chief Justice, but not any other judge however senior. It is suggested in the Hong Kong paper that this should be a matter of practice and that with an exception relating to HMOCS (which is a rather different issue) references to the Secretary of State in local Hong Kong Civil Service Regulations should be removed. What Hong Kong propose to do in their civil service regulations is a matter for them, though one would have thought that they would at least wish their regulations to be consistent with what is the practice and, if there is to be a practice, it should be prescribed administratively for the purposes of Regulation 19 of the Colonial Regulations. It would not be in the interests of good man management if as a matter of practice and in accordance with Regulation 19, recommendations for appointment were referred to the Secretary of State, but the individuals concerned were not aware of this practice.
4 PFABU
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