TNAG-2619-FCO40-3810-Official-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 32

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Basic Law

4. The Basic Law, to come into force on 1 July 1997, will be a constitutional charter for Hong Kong. It provides

under the Chinese constitution for the establishment of the

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the provisions of the Joint Declaration. It was promulgated in April 1990 by the Chinese National People's Congress after nearly 5 years' work by the Basic Law Drafting

Committee composed of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese

members.

Joint Liaison Group

5. The main forum for implementation of the Joint Declaration is the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG). The JLG meets at least three times a year in plenary session

(in London, Hong Kong and Peking). There are also frequent informal contacts between the British and Chinese permanent JLG offices in Hong Kong. The main function of the JLG is

to agree on the necessary legal and practical steps required to implement the Joint Declaration and to ensure a smooth

transfer of sovereignty in 1997. Much of its work is technical in nature, concerning, for example, the continuation of Hong Kong's international rights and obligations beyond 1997.

Court of Final Appeal (CFA)

6. One recent agreement of the JLG is for a Court of Final

Appeal to be established in Hong Kong to replace the right of appeal to the Privy Council. This agreement has been the subject of some criticism in Hong Kong and elsewhere over the lack of flexibility in the number of foreign judges who can be invited to sit. (A maximum of one out of five is

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