to lead to any changes in the legislation and the regulations made thereunder."
The composition of the Standing Committee comprise the Registrar of the Supreme Court as Chairman, three members of the Hong Kong Bar Association (Gerald de Basto, Robert Wei and Martin Lee), three members of the Law Society and the Director of the Legal Aid. This com- mittee met on three occasions in 1967, the first being on the 19th June 1967, and various matters concerning legal aid were discussed including the lateness in the payment of counsels' fees.
Between January 12, 1967 and November 20, 1967, a total of 1125 applications for legal aid were made, including 163 ex-pauper petitions and 75 cases handed over by the S.C.A.
There were 41 barristers and 157 Solicitors participat- ing in the scheme as at the 1st November 1967.
COURT ACCOMMODATION
The Bar Committee is conscious of the inadequacy of the present arrangement of accommodation in the Supreme Court Building and has taken the matter up with the Registrar through the Bar's representative on the Supreme Court Accommodations Committee. It is hoped that the situation will improve when the District Court takes over the building in Battery Fath. The Bar Committee has been also in correspondence with the Acting Attorney-General who has written to us that in principle the Attorney-General's Depart- ment agrees with a joint Robing Room for Crown Counsel and private practitioners, if adequate conference-rooms for confidential consultations were made available.
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