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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION

Court of Final Appeal

The Joint Declaration provides for the establishment of a Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. During 1990, the two sides continued their discussions on the detailed arrangements for setting up such a court in Hong Kong before 1997.

Localisation of Laws

A large number of United Kingdom enactments currently apply to Hong Kong. These will cease to have legal effect in Hong Kong after 1997. It will, therefore, be necessary to 'localise' them before 1997, that is, replace them by legislation enacted in Hong Kong which will survive 1997. At the eighth meeting of the JLG held in November 1987, the two sides agreed on the general principles for consultation on the localisation of United Kingdom enactments, since when considerable progress has been made. The first piece of localised legislation, the Supreme Court (Amendment) Ordinance dealing with Admiralty Jurisdiction in respect of civil proceedings, was enacted in February 1989. Four sets of Merchant Shipping (Safety) Regulations were localised in May 1989, two bills relating to merchant shipping were passed in May 1990 and a bill dealing with Admiralty Jurisdiction in criminal cases was passed in November 1990.

Air Service Agreements

In August 1990, Hong Kong signed a new Air Service Agreement (ASA) with France, separate from that between the latter and the United Kingdom. This brings to five the number of ASAS concluded so far by Hong Kong. The other four are ASAS with the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and Brunei respectively. Negotiations with a number of other aviation partners are at an advanced stage.

Sub-group on International Rights and Obligations

The Sub-group on International Rights and Obligations, set up by the Joint Liaison Group, was formally established in July 1986 to examine and discuss matters relating to the continued application of international rights and obligations affecting Hong Kong and to report its conclusions to the JLG. The sub-group, which is based in Hong Kong, consists of three experts on each side, supplemented as necessary by other experts and supporting staff.

The considerable number of treaties and international obligations relevant to Hong Kong which the sub-group will have to examine individually indicates that its work will take a number of years to complete. So far the sub-group has held nine meetings and has made good progress. In 1990, expert exchanges in the sub-group led to agreement between the two sides at the JLG on Hong Kong's continued participation after 1997 in the International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation and International Maritime Satellite Organisation. The JLG has now reached agreement on Hong Kong's continued participation in 26 international organisations. The sub-group has also begun discussions on the continued application after 1997 of multilateral treaties currently applying to Hong Kong.

Land Commission

The Sino-British Land Commission was established in 1985 in accordance with Annex III to the Joint Declaration. Its function is to conduct consultations on the implementation of