2
The Legal System
legal proceedings for persons under a disability of age or who are mentally incapacitated, as representative of deceased persons' estates for the purpose of legal proceedings, as Official Trustee and Judicial Trustee and to act as committee of the estate of mentally incapacitated persons. In 2012, the Official Solicitor took up 285 new cases.
The Law Reform Commission
The Law Reform Commission considers and reports on those topics referred to it by the Secretary for Justice or the Chief Justice. Its membership includes judges, academics, practising lawyers and prominent community members. Since its establishment in 1980, the commission has published 61 reports covering subjects as diverse as commercial arbitration, description of flats on sale, guardianship and custody, hearsay, privacy, double jeopardy and class actions. The commission is currently considering a range of subjects, including charities, sexual offences and adverse possession.
Director of Intellectual Property
The office of the Director of Intellectual Property, established under the Director of Intellectual Property (Establishment) Ordinance, runs the Intellectual Property Department, which operates the Trade Marks, Patents, Designs and Copyright Licensing Bodies Registries. The department makes recommendations on policy and legislation related to intellectual property protection, provides civil intellectual property legal advice to the Government, promotes public awareness of and respect for intellectual property rights, and helps Hong Kong companies understand the value of intellectual property trading.
Equal Opportunities Commission
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is an independent statutory body established to implement Hong Kong's anti-discrimination legislation. There are currently four anti- discrimination ordinances: the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and the Race Discrimination Ordinance. The EOC's functions include working towards the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, family status and race, and working towards the elimination of sexual harassment, and harassment and vilification on the grounds of disability and race.
In 2012, the EOC received 4,125 enquiries and 843 complaints relating to the four anti- discrimination ordinances. A total of 154 complaint cases were successfully conciliated.
The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data
The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) is an independent statutory body established under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) to monitor, supervise and promote compliance with the PDPO.
In 2012, the PCPD received 1,213 complaints and 19,053 enquiries, referred 15 cases to the Police for prosecution, received 63 matching procedure consent applications and conducted
32
Page 60Page 61