TNAG-2269-FCO40-3268-Hong-Kong-Her-Majesty-s-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-poli-1991 — Page 33

I

CONFIDENTIAL

to shone 10/12

Cd you plack Miss Brook When she hopes to addrers My mirinke of 21 Nov.?

FROM:

M

9/Kin

DATE:

HKB 233/1

N J Cox

Hong Kong Department

21 November 1991

189

Mr Got Hris

Mr Burns

HMOCS

CC:

Mr Ricketts

Mr Dew, RMD

Mr Stone

Excellent.. Calimine again of

мили

with the admiralit

RA

1.

You asked for a paper examining:

Mr Cox

Reply written but no PS. Two powrths: i) No legal obligation, ii) must consuelt staff or risk Judicial review. (should consult start

before chr. were).

(a) the legal/political basis for honouring HMOCS expectations; and

(b) what was agreed, ie acquis, in 1985 and 1988.

Honouring obligations

2.

We have pulled together the previous assurances and, on the legal side, are seeking Miss Brooks' view on how an application for judicial review might fare if we reneged on

them. I attach a copy of my minute to her and its annex.or

The political case for honouring HMG's assurances speaks for itself, but we shall need to work up the foreign policy case

ie what would be the consequences of forfeiting the confidence of all or most HMOCS officers in terms of the Government's Hong Kong objectives.

-

The acquis

3.

In 1984 Ministers agreed a line to take to provide some reassurance on Hong Kong public service pensions (HMOCs and local):

10/1

PO

NC3AAC/1

CONFIDENTIAL