TNAG-2721-FCO40-3927-Hong-Kong-elections-nationality-restrictions-1993 — Page 20

Pre-1997

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M. 4

Annex A

.1.

legislation

to

:

The

As I think you appreciate, the BOR only applies to

enacted before. 8 June. 1991; subsequent

legislation is to be measured against the ICCPR, as. applied

Hong Kong: Article VII (3) of the Letters Patent. relevant provision of the ICCPR is article 25 which, so far as relevant, provides that, every citizen shall have the

right,

without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2, to be elected. Since the concept of permanent residency is the nearest thing Hong Kong. has to citizenship, the effect of article 25 in the local context is to give every permanent resident the right to be elected, without any of the distinctions provided in article 2.

2.

permanent

!

a

Implementation of the 20% nationality restriction would introduce distinctions between different categories

of

resident, in relation to their right to be

elected to the Legislative Council, according Lo their nationality or to whether they have the right of abode in

foreign country.

Such distinctions would in my view be status distinctions of the kind mentioned in ICCPR article (Note here that nationality cannot be equated with "national origin", the expression used in Article 2; the former is a term of art deriving from international law, the latter is a loose non-technical term.)

2.

-3=-

20%

--It follows, Ithink, that implementation of the restriction would be inconsistent with article 25, and with article VII (3) of the Letters Patent, unless the

distinctions made could be justified.

thus

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