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and which it would not be in Hong Kong's wider intervento to
Ignore.
and at the same time to obviate the risks of which you are offrehensive, if Section 122 were
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I do not for one moment suggest that a
situation would arise in Hong Kong in which a
person could be arrested and no more would be
heard of him. The point is that the
substantive legislation should indicate beyond doubt that such a situation could not arise.
It is for this reason that
4. ₤ I therefers find it most difficult to accept as part of the permanent law of the Colony a provision which gives a judge or magistrate the very wide power of directing
"in the interests of justice or public order or security" that any criminal case should be
heard in a court from which the public are
excluded to an extent which would include the
delivery of judgment and verdict. In
arriving at this conclusion I have had in
mind, in particular, the principle set out in Article 6(1) of the European Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, that judgment should be pronounced publicly. Although this convention has not been applied to Hong Kong,
I consider that it enunciates a principle which cannot be altogether ignored It might, however, be possible to overcome difficulties by amending Section 122 to
provide that the power conferred on a court
by that Section does not extend to the
exclusion from the court whilst the verdict is announced, of eertain relatives of the accused; and I would like you to consider this suggestion.
6. With regard to your paragraph 8 it is
the
well over a year now since I asked in my Saving Despatch No.663 of 25 November, 1968,
for steps to be taken to enact legislation to give effect to the amendments proposed
at that time. But meanwhile, Hong Kong has
settled down well after the trouble of 1967
and in all the circumstances I now agree
that you should wait until the Criminal
Procedure Ordinance requires other amendments
before introducing the amendments to
Sections 122 and 123.
1
Mr 24/3