|
Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Treaty Project |
|
Documentary source: 36 I.L.M. 1675, International Legal Materials, vol XXXVI, No.6, Nov 1997: 1675 - 1691 Annotations added by the Centre for Comparative and Public Law |
H.E. Mr. Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations
New York
(Translation)
New York, 20 June 1997
Your Excellency,
In accordance with the Joint Declaration
of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland
and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of
Hong Kong signed on 19 December 1984 (hereinafter referred to as the Joint
Declaration), the People's Republic of China will resume the exercise of
sovereignty over Hong Kong with effect from I July 1997, Hong Kong will,
with effect from that dates become a Special Administrative Region of the
People's Republic of China.
It is provided in Section I of Annex
I to the Joint Declaration, "Elaboration by the Government of the People's
Republic of China of its Basic Policies Regarding Hong Kong", and in Articles
12, 13 and 14 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic of China, which was adopted on 4 April
1990 by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China
(hereinafter referred to as the Basic Law), that the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region will enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign
and defence affairs which are the responsibility of the Central People's
Government of the People's Republic of China. Furthermore, it is provided
both in Section XI of Annex I to the Joint Declaration and Article 153
of the Basic Law that international agreements to which the People's Republic
of China is not a party but which are implemented in Hong Kong may continue
to be implemented in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
In this connection, on behalf of
the Government of the People' s Republic of China, I would like to inform
Your Excellency as follows:
I. The treaties listed inAnnex
I to this Note, to which the People' s Republic of China is a party,
will be applied to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with effect
from l July 1997 as they:
(i) are applied to Hong Kong before
1 July 1997; or
II. The treaties listed in Annex II to this Note, to which the People's Republic of China is not yet a party and which apply to Hong Kong before 1 July 1997, will continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with effect from 1 July 1997.(ii) fall within the category of foreign affairs or defence or, owing to their nature and provisions, must apply to the entire territory of a State; or
(iii) are not applied to Hong Kong before 1 July 1997 but with respect to which it has been decided to apply them to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with effect from that date (denoted by an asterisk in Annex I).
The provisions of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong shall remain
in force beginning from 1 July 1997.
III. The Government of the People's
Republic of China has already carried out separately the formalities required
for the application of the treaties listed in the aforesaid Annexes, including
all the related amendments, protocols, reservations and declarations, to
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with effect from I July 1997.
IV. With respect to any other treaty
not listed in the Annexes to this Note, to which the People's Republic
of China is or will become a party, in the event that it is decided to
apply such treaty to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Government
of the People's Republic of China will carry out separately the formalities
for such application. For the avoidance of doubt, no separate formalities
will need to be carried out by the Government of the People's Republic
of China with respect to treaties which fall within the category of foreign
affairs or defence or which, owing to their nature and provisions, must
apply to the entire territory of a State.
The Government of the People's Republic
of China have the honour to request Your Excellency kindly to place this
Note and the Annexes to it formally on record and bring it to the attention
of the other Members of the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies
of the United Nations.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the
assurances of my highest consideration.
(signed) Qin Huasun
Permanent Representative of the People's
Republic of China to the United Nations
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Copyright © 1997 Centre for Comparative and Public Law, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong. All rights reserved.