§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements have been made for the transfer of outstanding business from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Court of Final Appeal on 1 July 1997. [11006]
§ Mr. HanleyThe jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will automatically lapse with Britain's administration of Hong Kong as from 1 July 1997.
The Judicial Committee will make every effort to ensure that outstanding Hong Kong business is dealt with before 1 July. It is nevertheless clear that there will come a point after which it will become unlikely for practical purposes that the committee will be able to accept new business with a reasonable expectation of being able to dispose of it before the handover. That point is likely to be 1 March. Hong Kong's court of final appeal ordinance provides that any appeal in respect of which the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council or the Hong Kong Court of Appeal has granted conditional, final or special leave to appeal to the committee and the appeal has not finally been disposed of on or before 30 June 1997 shall proceed in the court of final appeal.