TNAG-2695-FCO40-3901-Hong-Kong-Judiciary-and-judicial-appointments-1993 — Page 93

2 July 1993

(By Fax)

Miss Annie Tam

Administration Wing Government Secretariat Lower Albert Road Hong Kong

CONFIDENTIAL

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

38

London SWIA 2AH

Telephone: 071- 2702652

Dear Miss Tam

JUDICIAL OFFICERS (TENURE OF OFFICE) BILL: LETTERS PATENT AND COLONIAL REGULATIONS

1. Thank you for your letter of 8 June.

Letters Patent

AMENDMENTS TO THE

2. Our Legal Counsellor has now studied your proposed amendments and has drafted the enclosed amendment to the Letters Patent. Please could you let us know if you are content with this draft by Tuesday 6 July. I apologise for the short deadline which is necessary for us to have time to submit the amendment to the Legal Adviser and Ministers before getting them to the Privy Council Office. In connection with the Letters Patent, our Legal Counsellor has made the following points:

(i) Mrs Regina Ip's letter of 14 April 1992 sets out the draft amendment prepared by the Hong Kong Government to Article XVI of the Letters Patent. We have slightly redrafted it to make it closer to the existing Article XVI and have also reordered the list in your draft paragraph 2. Are you content with this revision?

(ii) Is the coming into operation provision satisfactory? Obviously the Letters Patent and the Ordinance should come into force together, as you have foreseen in your letter of 6 May. However, there will be quite a gap between approval of the Letters Patent at the Privy Council and signature by the Queen. It often takes several months to get the Letters Patent signed and they cannot be gazetted before they are signed.

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CONFIDENTIAL