HKC 181/20
* 1392
TRY
Mr Ricketts
Kong
смі
FROM:
Miss S Brooks
Legal Counsellor
Mr Bunte paDATE:
CC:
to consider how
hve
10 April 1992
Mr Grainger,
Assistant Legal Adviser
should put this useful thinking to Wang Kang
Hong Kong Department
HONG KONG/VIETNAM AIR SERVICES AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS
NIR
1. I agree with the points which are set out in Mr Glass's minute to Mr Fielder of 6 April 1992 on which you asked me for comments. I have had a very helpful discussion with Mr Glass, and it may be useful if I put down on paper the conclusions that we reached. We discussed in particular the meaning of "arrangements" in the Joint Declaration, paragraphs 119 to 126.
2.
We concluded that the word 'arrangements' is used in three different ways in those paragraphs.
(a) Firstly, there are 'provisional arrangements'. References to provisional arrangements are contained in JD121, 122, 124 and 126. Provisional arrangements
would appear to cover air service agreements which are being provisionally applied. There is also the question whether in addition they include arrangements which are free-standing and non-binding (by "non-binding" I mean they are not agreements).
I
discuss this at paragraphs 3 and 4 below. The Hong Kong/Vietnam air services arrangements would appear to be of this second kind.
air
(b) There is also a reference in JD124 to 'arrangements concerning the implementation of service agreements'. These arrangements are non-binding and they contain commercial details which are needed to flesh out an air service agreement, such as the number of services to be operated, and the type of aircraft to be used. The Hong Kong air service agreements contain open route schedules; in other words, they do not specify the points which will be served by airlines. This is also dealt with in the arrangements implementing the agreements (usually described as confidential Memoranda of Understanding). It is these types of arrangements which are at issue in
AEL AKW
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