20 (b)
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM
44
In July the Attorney General outlined in this
Council some experimental measures being worked out
for introduction into the Legal System. They could
be of considerable significance since they were designed
firstly to help bridge the communications and understanding
gap that can develop between a Cantonese-speaking population
unfamiliar with the British legal system on the one hand,
and a Government operating through British law and legal
procesures on the other; and secondly to assist persons
charged with certain offenses in Magistrates Courts who
are without legal advice.
45 The measures were:-
i) The Magistrates (Amendment) Bill 1978, which
provided for the appointment of Cantonese-
speaking members of the public to sit with
magistrates in an advisory capacity.
ii)
The provision, through the good offices of
the Law Society and Bar Association of rosters
of qualified persons to man, firstly a 'duty
lawyer' scheme in some Magistrates' Courts,
and secondly a 'quick legal advice' scheme in
two City District Offices, in both cases free
of charge to the public, with the Government
providing the administrative and clerical back-
up and the necessary funds.