SPEECH BY THE HON. ATTORNEY GENERAL (ACTING) IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ON WEDNESDAY 23RD MAY
MAGISTRATES (AMENDMENT) BILL 1973.
SECOND READING.
Sir,
I move the Second Reading of the Magistrates (Amend-
ment) Bill 1973.
I have just referred in moving the Second Reading
of the District Court (Amendment) Bill to the pressure imposed
on the Supreme Court by the increasing number of serious criminal
cases
There has also been a steady increase in the number
of criminal cases tried in the District Court 250 in 1969,
185 in 1970, 247 in 1971 and 470 in 1972. Some 52 criminal cases
are awaiting trial at the moment. In order to assist in solving
the problems which this has created, the Finance Committee of
this Council has recently approved the creation of two additional
posts of District Judge.
The possibility of relieving the pressure on the
District Court by the trial in the Magistrates' Courts of some
cases now being transferred to the District Court has also been
examined and it is proposed that, if necessary, that course
should be followed. It is, however, considered that the existing
powers of sentence of the magistrates will not be adequate in
relation to some cases which may in future be tried in the
Magistrates' Courts, and the object of this Bill is to increase
the maximum power of sentence of selected magistrates from the
present maximum of two years (or three years for consecutive
sentences) to four years (or five years in the case of conse-
cutive offences).
The Bill proposes that a new class of magistrate, to
be called a principal magistrate, should have this enhanced power