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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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9.
It has been assumed for some years in Hong Kong that the Attorney General is in the same control of criminal proceedings before magistrates as he undoubtedly is of proceedings before the Supreme Court. It has also been the practice to obtain his consent to the institution of private prosecutions before magistrates although at one time application used to be made to the Commissioner of Police. It is doubtful whether these practices are warranted by the principal Ordinance but under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, 1899, the Attorney General has a complete discretion in respect of cases committed for trial as to whether to institute pro- ceedings or to decline to institute any proceedings or to remit the case back to the magistrate. (See the provisions of sections 12-17 (both inclusive) of that Ordinance.) It is clearly desirable that, as in other Colonies, the Attorney General should exercise control over criminal proceedings before magistrates particularly as many cases previously triable only by the Supreme Court are now being dealt with by magistrates. The Attorney General cannot of course, always personally exercise the discretions and powers which it is necessary to vest in Clause 8 of the Bill enables the Attorney General to exercise the necessary discretions, to delegate some of these to the Solicitor General and to appoint public prosecutors to act either generally or in particular cases or classes of cases. It is proposed to appoint suitable police officers to act generally and officers of those departments which customarily conduct their own prosecutions to act in cases affecting their respective departments. Crown Counsel will be public prosecu- tors ex officio.
him.
10. There are certain types of cases, notably those relating to breaches of traffic regulations and other statutory offences which though necessarily made offences in the interest of public order or public health are often contravened by persons who would not normally be termed "criminals". It is to the interest of such persons as well as to that of police authorities and magistrates to permit a plea of guilty to be made by letter and without personal appearance where the commission of the offence is not contested. A procedure to enable this to be done has been introduced with success in Scotland. Clause 9 of the Bill enables a similar procedure to be applied here where the Ordinance creating the offence or a resolution of Legislative Council has declared it to be applicable to such offence. It is, however, as is customary, left to the discretion of the magistrate to insist if he wishes on the personal appearance of the defendant.
11. Sub-section (4) of section 13 of the principal Ordinance contains an anomalous provision enabling a magistrate if he thinks fit, and on being required so to do to make an order of dismissal of the complaint or information and to give a certificate, such certificate operating as a bar to subsequent proceedings on the same facts. It is conceivable that this provision was only intended to be evidentiary and not intended to enable the magistrate to decide whether in any particular case the dismissal of a complaint or information should have
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