↓
M
John Tilney, M.P.,
28th November, 1968.
independent Committee of Review".
It is not clear whe-
ther the statement refers to the Committee of Review
constituted under the Emergency Regulations or some other committee which the Colonial Secretary has constituted. If it refers to the former then the statement is a misre- presentation of the provisions of Regulation 31 of the Emergency (Principal) Regulations and of the Emergency (Committee of Review) Rules made thereunder. statement refers to an "independent Committee of Review". Under the Emergency Regulations the Chairman and Members
The of the Committee are appointed by the Governor. appointments are not gazetted and the identity of the Committee has never been made public. The Corumittee is
Government's
not an appellate body and cannot act as such; its functions are merely to make "recommendations" to the Colonial Secre- tary if any detainee objects against a Detention Order. The Colonial Secretary is perfectly at liberty to reject its
"recommendations"
The last point made in Mr. Sedwick's letter is that Detention Orders are for one year, suggesting thereby that there is some terminal point beyond which the powers of the Colonial Secretary to order the detention of a
This is simply not the case. person must come to an end. Although Regulation, 31 authorizes detention for one year there is nothing to prevent the renewed detention of a person simultaneously upon his release thereby in effect
to making the detention perpetually renewable from year
year.
It seems to the Bar Committee that whilst there is every justification for the Hong Kong Government to
copt.