CONFIDENTIAL
Ref: AGC/3/855/73C
BRUSHFOR
A. R. Rushfor , Esq., C.M.G., O.B.E., Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
Legal Division,
Downing Street,
LONDON, S. W. 1A, 2AL.
49
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CHAMBERS
HONG KONG
26th July, 1974.
LAST
REF.
Dear Tony,
Administration of Justice.
After a good deal of fiddling around, we seem to have reached conclusions on the main issues arising out of the 'Justice' business. The one matter which remains unsettled is that of the retiring age for puisne judges. The Governor wishes to consider this matter further and it looks
as though a raising of their retiring age will not be part of the package.
You may be interested to know that in the end I found that I had to oppose a raising of the District Judges' retiring age on general service grounds. I lost!
I am
sending you a first draft of the Bill to establish a Judicial Service Commission. We shall be glad to know if you have any comments. The Commission will, of course, not be concerned with discipline if that is an appropriate word to use in the context of judges!
―
We hope to consult Executive Council very shortly to obtain agreement in principle to an extension of legal aid to all District Court criminal cases (subject, of course, to the means test) regardless of the offence charged. If this is agreed, nothing further will be done before the next financial year. Resources simply will not be available this
year.
After that, we shall make an announcement locally of the decisions and I have just sent to Geoffrey Briggs for
CONFIDENTIAL