6. I also discussed clauses 14 and 15 with Mr. Roberts. His off-the-cuff
reaction was that they could probably agree to the amendments to
clause 14(1)(a)(i) and (iii) suggested in paragraph 19 of Mr. Laird's submission. As regards clause 15 (paragraphs 21 to 24 of the submission) Mr. Roberts said
that the Hong Kong Bar were satisfied with the clause as it now stands and he
thought that probably the solicitors were also. He explained that some
solicitors firms in Hong Kong do little else than buy and sell property and he
did not see why communications between solicitor and client in relation to such transactions (which might be very relevant to the question of corruption) should be privileged. In short, he thought that subsection (4) of clause 15 gave as
much protection to communications between a legal adviser and his client as was
reasonable. I am inclined to agree and I would be grateful if Sir Arthur Grattan-Bellew would look at this question again. Admittedly the protection afforded by clause 15(4) is less than that which is given by the law of England
or, for that matter, the general law of Hong Kong;
Bill is this not justifiable?
but in the context of this
7. I have also noticed clause 3 of the Bill, but too late to discuss it with
Mr. Roberts. The scope of this clause is such that, irrespective of the
innocence of one's motives, one commits a crime if, without the permission of the
Governor, one does various acts which are no more than ordinary incidents of
everyday life. To give a few examples, the following persons who do any of the
following things without the general or special permission of the Governor
commit a criminal offence for which, under clause 12(2), they are liable to a
fine of 20,000 dollars and imprisonment for one year
(a) A civil servant who applies for a post in, say, commerce or
banking, for "solicits any advantage" means, inter alia, applies for a job - see clause 2(1)(b).
(b)
An unofficial member of the Legislative Council who asks his
bank for an overdraft "public officer" includes such a member
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(clause 2) and "advantage" includes "loan" (clause 2).
(c) A member of the Urban Council who accepts an invitation to
dinner, for he too is a "public servant" within the definition
and a dinner is a "description of entertainment" - clause 2(1)(d).
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