TNAG-2491-FCO40-3623-Bilateral-agreements-between-Hong-Kong-and-other-countries-r-1992 — Page 5

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國際法律科

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中區下亞厘畢道 政府合署東座4樓 專用電訊:81710 HKAGC HX 電訊傳真:852-8772130

#KC 012/2

ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CHAMBERS

INTERNATIONAL LAW DIVISION

3/F., EAST WING,

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES LOWER ALBERT ROAD, HONG KONG. Telex: 81710 HKAGC HX Fax: 852-877 2130

本署檔號 Our Ref.:

來函檔號 Your Ref.:

電話號碼 Tel. No.:

810 2403

Dr S D Harkin

Hong Kong Department

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

21 March 1992

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Bob wa the

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Der Simion, Дел

Please

Hong Kong bilateral agreements remaining in force after 1997

refer to your letter of 12 March which I found puzzling in certain important respects. For example I am not sure why you mention only Australia, Canada and the United States (your para 1) or why you speak about notifications about entry into force or termination of agreements before 30 June 1997 (your para 2).

The assumption I have been working on in this entire t enterprise is as follows.

All bilateral agreements \negotiated and concluded (with Chinese agreement) by Hong Kong, under entrustment of the UK, before 1997 which are intended to continue in force after 1997 will be registered at the UN. This includes all IPPAS, extradition agreements, MLAS, judgment enforcement agreements and anything else we can think of

and get the Chinese to agree we can negotiate. As I understand it all our bilateral ASAS, once signed and brought into force, are registered at the UN. Indeed, I was the Legal Adviser at UKMIS New York when the first such agreement arrived for registration (Hong Kong/Netherlands) and we established what was to become an important precedent.

Let me say that I believe registration at the UN of all our bilaterals to be very important to Hong Kong for obvious reasons. I fully realise of course that Article 102 of the UN Charter speaks about treaties and international agreements "entered into by any Member of the United Nations" and that it could be argued that Hong Kong, not being such a elevati Member, cannot register its international agreements. But that argument was not raised in respect of our ASAs and is unlikely to be So for our other agreements. We would have all kinds of counter arguments to make if the Chinese were to raise it.

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