IKK 14/14
CONFIDENTIAL
Hong Kong Department
FOREIGN AND COMMON/EALTH OFFICE
LONDON SW1
16 December 1971
Sir Hugh Norman-Walker KCMG OBE Colonial Secretary HCNG KONG
67
34) Ponew
1. In the last paragraph of y letter to Ronnie Holmes of 4 November 1970 about appointments from the Bar to the Supreme Court Bench I touched on the question of pensions and mentioned that we would go back to the CDI (now the ODA) to see if we could find a satisfactory solution. Over the last year we have had a good look at this problem in conjunction with the CDA, our Legal Adviser and the Dependent Territories General Department, and I think the best thing I can do now is to set out in some detail the proposals that have emerged.
2.
ODA's researches in the matter have comi'irmed their view that, although certain arrangements were made in Ghana and in India to provide special pension terms for similar circumstances, those which were made in Ghana are now regarded as unsuitable (where similar arrangements were made elsewhere they were dispensed with as long ago as 1936) and the scheme prepared for use in india was so parsimonious in its sale of benefits and contained such over-long minimum qualifying terms that it would not be appropriate to serve as a model for Hong Kong. 3. In his letter to the Governor of 24 July 1969 Carter drew
AKK/4/14/68/4) attention to the provisions of the West indies, the Federal
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Supreme Court (Salaries and Fensions) Act 1960. As I understand it, judges in Hong Kong are pensionable under the Tensions Ordinance Cap 89, 1949, us amended; and pension is earned on a constant of one six-hundredth and, for a judge, is payable on retirement on or after the age of 55 or, with the approval of the Secretary of State, on or after the age of 45.
it. In the West Indies the Tensions Act 1958, as amended, provided for the public service to earn pension on a constant of one six-hundredth and for pension to be payable on retirement arter the age of 55 or, in special cases, with approval, after the age of 50. The Federal Supreme Court (Salaries and Tensions) Act 1960 provided enhanced terms for all judges, whether elevated from the local bar or not, which
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CONFIDENTIAL