BACKGROUND
1.
Persons who are aggrieved with Government decisions in
Hong Kong have many channels through which they may appeal.
They can, and usually do, in the first instance appeal to
the Head of the Department concerned. Departmental procedures
for dealing with appeals were extensively reviewed and
standardised 3 years ago and it should not now be difficult
for anybody to have an appeal considered at the appropriate
level. In addition, appeals can be made to District Offices
and to individual Urban Councillors who operate a system of
ward offices for this purpose. They can also be lodged with
UMELCO (Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative
Councils) which has staff dealing full-time with appeals and
complaints. UMELCO's authority to deal with these issues has no
statutory backing but the Governor has directed that Unofficials
should have access to Heads of Departments and to all departmental
files except those dealing with security matters.
2. These systems work well generally. There has been pressure
from time to time for the establishment of an ombudsman in
Hong Kong but present thinking is that there is no need to
replace the UMELCO system.
Hong Kong and General Department Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1 March 1982