CONFIDENTIAL
-B/E/.
THE APPOINTMENT OF A PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSIONER
FOR ADMINISTRATION IN HONG KONG
The Hong Kong Government have for several years been considering the possibility of appointing a Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. They have made a study of the ombudsman systems in Scandinavia and in New Zealand, as well as that of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in Great Britain. However, they have not as yet reached any conclusion as to whether or not such an appointment should be made in the Colony.
Constitutional Difficulties
The institution of Parliamentary Commissioner might provide a worthwhile independent check on executive actions under the system of Crown Colony Government as in force in Hong Kong; but the constitutional peculiarities might give rise to difficulties. One such difficulty is the question of to whom the Parliamentary Commissioner would report. Sovereign power does not rest with the Colonial Legislature, which in Crown Colony Government is neither fully representa- tive nor responsible. It rests in the Colony with the Governor and through him and the Secretary of State ultimately with the United Kingdom Parliament. The non-representative nature of the local legislature raises another difficulty - that of devising an adequate sifting procedure before complaints are referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner. These and other problems require very careful examination both here and in Hong Kong.
Established Machinery
In the absence of any elected representation in the central councils of Government, the Hong Kong Government are well aware of the importance of providing ways and means of enabling the people of the Colony to lodge their complaints and to make known their views on the administration of the Colony's affairs. In addition to the traditional arrangements which exist in any dependent territory for dealing with grievances and complaints from members of the public (e.g. the standard system of questions in the Legislative Council; petitions to the Governor and to the Secretary of State; letters or oral complaints to the Colonial Secretary, to the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, to the District Officers in the New Territories, and to Heads of Government Departments) the following machinery has been in existence in Hong Kong for some time:
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