Another important consideration is that the Judiciary is at present working in thoroughly unsatisfactory conditions, which could be ameliorated to a limited extent by making use of the old Supreme Court building as soon as it can be rehabilitated. The building would be required for this purpose until about the end of 1983, which is the current assessment of the time when the new Supreme Court will be ready.
Other planned Court houses
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Members may wish to note that the new Supreme Court in Queensway is planned to contain thirty courts. This building is already in Category A of the Public Works Programme. By the end of this year there will be a need for about fifteen courts for the Supreme Court and about eight for the Hong Kong Island District Court. Assuming the addition of an extra Supreme Court and an extra District Court per year, a modest estimate on past experience, there might be a need for about thirty-three courts for the Supreme Court and the Island District Court by the end of 1983. This will be more than the capacity of the new Supreme Court Building in Queensway. In addition, it is hoped to move the Central Magistracy, which at present contains four courts and within the next five years may be estimated to need about nine. This gives a total requirement of 42 courts, 12 more than the new Supreme Court building can contain.
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To meet this need it is proposed to hurry forward the construction of a combined District Court/Magistracy on an area reserved for Judicial use, on the Wanchai Reclamation. This build- ing may also be ready by 1983, It will then be possible to release for other development the present court building in Battery Path, Western Magistracy in Fire Brigade Building, and the Central Magistracy. If the expansion of the courts take place as expected, it would be prudent to retain the old Supreme Court building for judicial use, even taking into account the construction of the two new large buildings referred to above. However, if expansion is not so rapid as forecast, the use of the building after 1983 will be considered later.
Proposals
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In outline, therefore, the proposals for the old Supreme Court building with which the Chief Justice agrees, are as follows :
CONFIDENTIAL