CONFIDENTIAL
Registry
No.
HKK 14/9
DRAFT
SAVING DESPATCH
Type 1 +
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
XXXSXXXX
From
To:-
XXXXX
Confidential. XXXXXXX XXXaKINX
His Excellency
Sir David Trench, GCMG., MC.,
Government House,
HONG KONG.
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
PRIVACY MARKING
..In Confidence
Your Saving Despatch No.1195 of 25 October, 1969. The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (No.2)
Ordinance, 1968.
I agree that the operation of Sections 122 and 123 should not be made dependent on an order of the Governor, whether or not such order is made after consultation with the Chief Justice, and I am glad that you are able to accept an amendment to Section 123 to provide for judgment and sentence to be announced in open court. But I am concerned to learn that you
would prefer not to introduce a similar amendment to Section 122, particularly since it was our impression that your Attorney General had agreed that such an amendment was desirable in discussions with Legal Advisers here during August 1969.
2.
The argument advanced in your paragraph 4 is understood. appreciated. However, it appears that the kind of situation envisaged in that paragraph would be such that either it could be dealt with under the ordinary law of contempt (in the case of an isolated incident) or it would need to be dealt with by invoking
emergency regulations. I realise that you are anxious to refrain from taking the latter step unless this is absolutely unavoidable; nevertheless I feel unable 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.
3. It is true that under Section 122 the representatives of the press cannot be required to
(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500M 2/69 Hw.
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
/ leave
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