TNAG-2653-FCO40-3846-Extradition-cases-from-the-UK-and-France-to-Hong-Kong-Lorrai-1992 — Page 153

CLIFFORD CHANCE

thartin

INTERNAL MEMORANDUM

TO:

Roger Beat/John Curran

CC Hong Kong

FROM:

Jean-Paul Bertolas

COPIES:

CC Paris

BMFL/SANIMAN

DATE:

21 April 1992

FILE:

AGE00012

I report below the meeting held on Friday, 17 April 1992 at the offices of Mme Masse Dessen, avocat in the Conseil d'Etat and the Cour de Cassation, with Professor Danny Cohen.

1.

The meeting started by a general discussion on the status of the case and the reasons for the decision of the French Government to refuse to extradite Mr. Saniman. The participants agreed that although there were a few precedents (in the period 81-82) it is exceptional that the French Government refuses to extradite after a positive advice of the Chambre d'Accusation confirmed, furthermore, in the Cour de Cassation. The participants agreed that although there is probably some truth in the reasons given unofficially i.e. that after a review of the case internally at the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice considered that an extradition decree could be overruled by the Conseil d'Etat on the grounds put forward in the note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of 20th March, there are certainly other reasons of a more "political" nature. The only conceivable reason is the uncertainty regarding the status of the Colony of Hong Kong after 1997.

The participants further agreed that the chances that the decision of the French Government be reversed are almost non existent.

In the first place, a recourse in the Conseil d'Etat by the Hong Kong Government would be without precedent, would raise material problems of French administrative law, criminal law and international law and ultimately is unlikely to be successful.

In the second place, even if ultimately the Conseil d'Etat were to nullify the decision of refusal of the French Government, the nullification of that decision would not be tantamount to a positive decision: the French Government would, again, be free to decide whether or not to extradite Mr. Saniman. As a decision of