..
!4
by the licence which they have succeeded in
establishing through a long course of years are responsible for the constant delays in judicial proceedings and now have the assurance to complain of being allowed by the Judges to cause these
delays.
Time will show whether the present Judges (and particularly of course the Chief Justice) are strong enough to deal with the situation, but until it has been shewn that they are unable to do so
it would be premature and in my opinion unfair to
condemn them as weak or incompetent.
I now turn to the remedies (other than
strong action by the Bench) which have been suggested.
(b) The Remedies.
(1) Fusion of the two branches of the legal
profession
Suggested by the Chief Justice (enclosure 1)but opposed both by the local solicitors (enclosure 4) and by the local Bar (enclosure 5).
(2) Increased jurisdiction of the Summary
Court
Suggested by the local solicitors
(who have the right of audience in that Court) and opposed by the local Bar. It is supported both by the Chief Justine lenclosure 10) and the puisne Judge (enclosure 12).
Both the above proposals are negatived by
the Governor (enclosure 13 and paragraph 3 of despatch) and I don't think we need consider either
of them as practical politics.
(3).
Short ese list.
Suggested by the local Bar (enclosure 5) and supported by the Governor (paragraph 3 of despatch). It was not apparently submitted to the local solicitors. The Chief Justice is however prepared to give effect to it (enclosure 11) but the puisne Judge expects little result from it (enclosure 12).
Lor
CAM
course approos this Experiment -
15-
128
The Governor however states that a far more
: drastic remedy is required (paragraph 4 of despatch)
and supported by the statement of various leading local counsel (enclosure 15) and especially of Fr Sharp (enclosure 16) traces the inordinate length of civil
cases mainly to the lack of control exercised by the Judges over the irrelevance and prolixity of counsel this lack of control being caused by the inexperience and want of self confidence resulting from the Judges themselves having had little or no practice at the Bar
before being elevated to the Bench. I have dealt with this allegation already and merely repeat it as the ground given by the Governor his proposed remedy.
That remedy, partly with a view to the reform of legal practice and partly on the ground of the
magnitude and importance of commercial suits in a
place like Hong Kong, is that the next Chief Justice should be appointed from the ranks of practising
at barristers in good practice from the English Scottish
or Irish Bar. Salary £3,000.
Such a man, it is thought, would have the
experience enabling him to reform Hong Kong practic
and the strength to make the local Bar and solicitors
"toe the line" under the new regime. He would infuse
the legal atmosphere and traditions of the Courts in
this Country into those of Hong Kong.
against it.
These are the obvious arguments in its favour.
There are some equally obvious arguments
(i) The men in the Colonial legal service who have made their way towards the top look to one of the three Eastern Chief Justiceships as
the