(e) Any party to the proceedings might appeal from the final ruling by the Tribunal to the Court of Appeal (paras. 53-56).
the
The working group considers that a tribunal embodying
above features would provide clear and consistent standards and act as an effective deterrent to those who would abuse the law. In particular, it is expected to bring about improvements to the existing procedure in that it would :-
(a)
enhance deterrence by providing a a mechanism whereby an order for seizure can be obtained quickly before most copies of the publication have been sold by the publisher;
(b) provide a consistent standard which reflects
current community views;
(c) provide facilities for a publisher to obtain a conclusive ruling on the acceptability or otherwise of a publication. It is thought likely that this would tend to
to reduce the quantity of offensive publications which will reach the public; and
(a) in time, the Tribunal's decisions would
a
clear
for framework
the
as
constitute guidance of publishers and distributors
is considered acceptable in a
to
what publication.
Assessment of Option I
13
During internal
consultation, most
The
of the
departments and branches concerned have expressed general support for the tribunal proposal. Two specific reservations
be mentioned. must however
of Director
Information Services is of the view that in the light of the controversy surrounding the media council proposal, the press would view the tribunal proposal with
proposal with scepticism. The Secretary Municipal Services considers that newspaper hawkers should
singled not be
out for additional punishment through cancellation
licence following of their ΟΙ suspension conviction by the court.
for
14
The Hong Kong Magistrates'
Association
has
in
consulted
confidence. The Association has support for the proposal in principle, and made the following points for further consideration -
been indicated