1
24
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
FULL COURT ORDINANCE, 1933.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the first reading of a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to amend and consolidate the Full Court Ordinances." He said: Some change in the provisions of the existing Full Court Ordinances is necessitated by the establishment of a Court of Criminal Appeal. Other changes result from a decision that in the Colony and in Shanghai the Chief Justice of Hong Kong and the Judge of His Majesty's Supreme Court for China should respectively preside in their local Full Courts. The opportunity has been taken to revise the whole of the provisions of the existing Full Court Ordinances and to consolidate them in the manner indicated in this Bill.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded and the Bill was read a first time.
Objects and Reasons.
The "Objects and Reasons" for the Bill were stated as follows:-
1. The Full Court Ordinance (No. 27 of 1912) made provision for a third member of the Full Court by the inclusion in certain cases of the Judge of His Britannic Majesty's Supreme Court for China or a barrister of not less than seven years standing temporarily appointed by the Governor.
2. The Judge from His Majesty's Supreme Court for China is necessarily unavailable for appeals and other applications to the Full Court which require to be promptly heard and suitable members of the local bar are frequently themselves engaged in the appeals and applications in question. Ordinance No. 27 of 1912 made provision for the determination of such appeals and applications by a Full Court of two judges.
3. Section 2 of the new consolidation Ordinance places a limitation on the practice by providing that, except in certain specified cases, the trial judge or a judge whose judgment or order is appealed from shall not be a member of a Full Court of two judges only. He may, however, be a member of a Full Court of three judges.
4. In future therefore appeals from a judge in the summary jurisdiction will be heard either by three judges or by a court of two other judges. Magisterial appeals may be heard by either two ΟΥ three judges as the Chief Justice may determine. Circumstances now obtain which makes a court of three local judges possible whenever it is deemed necessary.
115