TNAG-2988-FCO40-3398-Future-of-Hong-Kong-mutual-legal-assistance-1991 — Page 32

19 April 1991

Mr A Harding C7 Division

Home Office

Queen Anne's Gate

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

London SWIA 2AH

Telephone: 071- 270 2682

Dear Alan

CRIMINAL JUSTICE (INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION) ACT 1990: GUIDANCE FOR CENTRAL AUTHORITY STAFF

1. Thank you for your letter of 21 March. I have since received from you a copy of the draft desk notes for

caseworking officers in the Central Authority and consulted our legal advisers and treaty experts.

2. The FCO would indeed wish to be consulted about certain types of request concerning mutual legal assistance and about requests to and from certain countries, as an early warning of cases which might be politically or diplomatically sensitive. Our objective would be to ensure that FCO departments, especially geographical desks, were consulted at an early stage to enable them to give proper attention to such cases. However, I am sure you will appreciate that it is difficult to write guidance notes to cover all such cases, especially as the Act has not yet come into effect and we do not have a feel for the volume and complexity of the case work it will produce. We think that we should, therefore, begin by casting our net widely, and ensure that the guidance is reviewed after the Central Authority has been in operation for a year or so.

3.

As for requests to and from certain countries which might be sensitive, we agree with the idea in the draft notes that there be an annex listing those countries in respect of which FCO should be consulted. We are consulting within the FCO about such a list which we will let you have shortly. In view of the possible sensitivity of such a list, we will probably ask that this annex be classified restricted.

4.

We are still consulting, but in the light of the above, we have in mind amending paragraph 19 of the notes to read as follows:

"19. If the request emanates from a country where the rendering of assistance could be politically or diplomatically sensitive, the views of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) should be sought on the implications for the international position of the United Kingdom if assistance were given. Annex B lists those countries in respect of which FCO advice should be sought at the earliest possible opportunity. The FCO should also be consulted about cases involving British nationals and

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