ANNUAL REPORT
of the Chairman of
THE HONG KONG BAR ASSOCIATION for Presentation to Members
of the Association at its Annual General Meeting to be held on the 11th January, 1968
BAR COMMITTEE
The role played by the Hong Kong Bar Association in the administration of justice becomes larger each year. Although this tendency is to be welcomed, it casts upon the Bar Committee an increasingly heavy burden. The time may soon come when, in addition to the volume of work now handled by Bar Commitee Members and Members of the Association acting in Sub-Committees, the services of a permanent salaried secretary will have to be obtained.
In the last Annual Report the Chairman mentioned the making of provisions for a capital reserve for such purposes as meeting the costs of proceedings which touch and concern the rights and privileges of the Bar. The demands which have been made upon the Bar Association in consequence of disciplinary proceedings before a Committee of Enquiry have now made it quite clear that the present scale of subscriptions is totally inadequate. The importance of the Bar Association in the professional lives of Members demands that the Association should always be equipped with sufficient funds. As will be seen from the Hon. Treasurer's Report at the end of this Annual Report, a substantial part of the income of the Bar Association in the past year has come from voluntary contributions of Members in addition to their annual subscriptions. Such a position should not be tolerated on a permanent basis. Accordingly, I have moved a resolu- tion which will be put before Members at the termination of
1