UNCLASSIFIED
Foreign and Commonwealth Office London S.W.1
e
il
203ugust 1970
SAVING DESPATCH
LG.3/393/1
From the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
To the Governor, HONG KONG
No. 315
Your Saving Despatch No. 743 of 18 June
Establishment of an Inn of Court in
Hong Kong
Both
The Lord Chancellor's Office and the Privy Council Office have been consulted regarding your proposal that a body empowered to control the admission and conduct of barristers in Hong Kong should be incorporated by Royal Charter. the Lord Chancellor's Office and the Privy Council Office feel doubtful whether it would be right in principle to constitute such a body ab initio by Charter. They think it would be preferable to establish the body by local legislation and if after five years the body had proved a success then the question of Charter could be considered. In view of these opinions it is assumed that you will not be giving further consideration to submitting a petition to Her Majesty.
2.
In the circumstances no action has been taken to ascertain whether Her Majesty would be willing that Her name should be associated with the body since you may not consider that it would be appropriate for such an association if the body is to be established by local legislation and not by Royal Charter.
3. I have the following general comments to make on thè proposals:-
(a) The governing body of the Inns of Court here no longer exercise disciplinary control over their members. In 1966 the four Inns of Court by resolution set up a Senate to take over, amongst other matters, the discipline of barristers. A description of the Senate and a history of the
Inns of Court is to be found in the jussports,
in re.S. a Barrister), 1969 Weekly Law
1969 Weekly Law Reports, page 708.
(b) In England all the judges are members of one or other of the four Inns, whereas at the present time none of the Hong Kong judges, as I understand: the position, are members of the Hong Kong Bar. Consequently if the governing body of the proposed
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