RESTRICTED
I am most grateful to the Committee for inviting me to give evidence. I have received from the Clerk to the Committee an
indication of the areas where the Committee is interested in
hearing my evidence. Would it help, Mr Chairman, if I were to make a brief statement setting out my views on the legal issues and I would then be happy to answer any questions members of the Committee may have?
The Status of the Joint Declaration
The Joint Declaration has the status of a treaty in international law. That means that its provisions including its Annexes create rights and obligations binding in international law. It was registered by both Governments with the United Nations under Article 102 of the UN Charter (which requires members of the UN to register every treaty and international agreement entered into by them) and will of course remain binding on both sides for the years following July 1997.
The Status in International Law of the Basic Law
The Basic Law has no status in international law. It is a Chinese law passed under Article 31 of the Chinese Constitution which permits the establishment of special administrative regions. It will in effect be the constitution of the Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR). I say "will be" since the basic law is not in force and will only come into force on 1 July 1997. Its provisions therefore do not have any legally binding effect on the Hong Kong Government before then.
The Basic Law was enacted by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China in order to fulfil Chinese obligations in paragraph 3 (12) of the Joint Declaration which commits them to stipulate in a Basic Law the basic policies towards Hong Kong after 1997, as set out in Annex I of the Joint Declaration. The British Government followed the drafting of the Basic Law closely and drew the attention of the
RESTRICTE
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.