LAST
RCR
în Carler
We spoke
Mr. Moreton
IN CONFIDENCE
que, 4/1
S
Reference.......
Chief Justice, Hong Kong
I am not
Please refer to your minute to me of 27 June.
surprised that the Governor and the Chief Justice were
unenthusiastic about course (a). I was never attracted to it
myself and mentioned it only because the Chief Justice brought
it up in discussion with me.
2. If the C.J's suggestion that an English judge might be
released to act as Chief Justice of Hong Kong (presumably on secondment for a defined term) is to be taken seriously, then we
should move in the matter now for these things take time to
arrange. I think, however, that there is little chance of the
Lord Chancellor agreeing to release a judge for this purpose in view of the pressure of work in the courts here. He recently
allowed a County Court Judge to go on secondment to the High
Court of Uganda; but there were special reasons and in this
case we could not maintain that it was impossible to fill the
Chief Justiceship of Hong Kong from the local Bench.
3. The C.J's suggestion of an exchange of judges between this country and Hong Kong does not, in my opinion, merit serious consideration and it is in any case irrelevant to the present
problem.
4. Where judicial promotions are concerned, my experience is
that the Governor of Hong Kong usually does not let us have his
recommendation until very late and then, as often as not, asks
for telegraphic confirmation that his recommendation has been accepted. In the present case we must insist on having his recommendation in good time I should say at least two months
before Sir Michael's retirement. If, of course, the Governor
wished to propose the appointment of an English Q.C. he should let us know immediately for (i) Ministers would need time to consider this proposal on its general merits and (ii) it might take quite a time to find a suitable Q.C. who was interested. It may indeed be even now too late to secure such a person
before the end of the year.
Copy to: Mr. Carter
JCHC Penie
(J.C. McPetrie)
2 July, 1969
IN CONFIDENCE