CONFIDENTIAL
Retirement Ages
15.
The existing retirement ages for members of the judiciary are 65 for Supreme Court judges, 60 for District Court judges and 55 for magistrates and others. There are arrangements permitting extensions of service beyond normal retirement age, but because they do not give members of the judiciary certainty that they will be able to continue to serve beyond the stipulated retiring age, they do not provide an answer to the problems referred to in 5(b) and (c)
above.
16.
The Hong Kong Government considers that a retirement age of 65 together with arrangements for extensions of service beyond that age provide adequate career security and a satisfactory length of career for Supreme Court judges. However, the retirement ages for District Court judges and for magistrates and others are considered too low. The Hong Kong Government therefore plans to set the retirement age for all members of the judiciary at 65.
17.
The new retirement ages will be applied in such a way as to ensure, as far as possible, an even outflow of expatriate members of the judiciary so that there will be room for local candidates at the time when these are likely to be available. While the outflow will be adequate in the case of Supreme Court judges, and also in the case of magistrates and others since despite their low retirement age it has been the practice for them to serve until 65, there is a possible problem with District Court judges. For this reason the Hong Kong Government plans to apply the new retirement age for District Court judges only to new appointees, thereby avoiding the possibility of there being a lack of vacancies for local candidates in the next few years.
18.
With the introduction of the new retirement ages the existing unsatisfactory arrangements for extensions of service for District Court judges and magistrates and others will be discounted and extensions beyond 65 granted to members of the judiciary, other than Supreme Court judges only in the most exceptional
circumstances.
CONFIDENTIAL