TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1982
8
LEGAL AID SERVICES FOR THE NEEDY
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TWO LEGAL AID PROGRAMMES
ONE ADMINISTERED BY THE LEGAL AID DEPARTMENT AND THE OTHER BY THE LAW SOCIETY HAVE BEEN PROVIDING FREE OR LOW-COST LEGAL SERVICES TO NEEDY APPLICANTS. LAST YEAR THE DEPARTMENT GRANTED LEGAL AID TO 6 600 APPLICANTS IN RESPECT OF CIVIL CASES AND TO 1 800 APPLICANTS FOR CRIMINAL CASES.
THE LEGAL AID SCHEME WAS INTRODUCED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN 1967. INITIALLY IT WAS CONFINED TO PROVIDING AID FOR CIVIL CASES ONLY, BUT SOME THREE YEARS LATER IT WAS EXTENDED TO CRIMINAL CASES.
IN THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION THERE WERE 972 APPLICATIONS FOR LEGAL AID. AT THAT TIME THE SCHEME WAS ADMINISTERED BY A STAFF OF SEVEN, ONLY ONE OF WHOM, THE DIRECTOR, WAS A QUALIFIED LAWYER. THE BUDGET FOR 1967 FOR PAYMENT OF LEGAL FEES FOR CIVIL CASES WAS JUST $135 000,
DURING THE EARLY YEARS OF LEGAL AID, ALL CASES WERE ASSIGNED TO SOLICITORS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE WHO REPRESENTED THE SUCCESSFUL LEGAL AID APPLICANTS. THE IR COSTS, AS WELL AS THE FEES OF ANY BARRISTERS ENGAGED FOR THE IR CLIENTS WERE. AND CONTINUE TO BE, PAID FROM LEGAL AID FUNDS PROVIDED BY THE GOVERNMENT. BY 1973, THE NUMBER OF LEGAL AID CASES HAD RISEN DRAMATICALLY AND TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT SOLICITORS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE COULD NO LONGER COPE WITH THIS FLOOD OF EXTRA WORK AS WELL AS THE INCREASE IN PRIVATE COMMERCIAL LEGAL WORK STEMMING FROM THE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY BOOMS IN HONG KONG.
TO OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM THE DEPARTMENT ENGAGED LAWYERS (MAINLY FROM OVERSEAS, BUT WHENEVER POSSIBLE LOCALLY) TO WORK IN THE DEPARTMENT'S NEW LITIGATION UNIT. THIS WAS SET UP IN 1974 IN ORDER TO ENABLE THE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE LEGAL REPRESENTATION BY ITS OWN LAWYERS IN URGENT MATTERS OR CASES FOR WHICH IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ARRANGE REPRESENTATION BY SOLICITORS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE.
TODAY THE DEPARTMENT HAS A STAFF OF AROUND 260, OF WHOM 44 ARE QUALIFIED LAWYERS. TWO-THIRDS OF THESE ARE WORKING IN THE DEPARTMENT'S TWO LITIGATION DIVISIONS DOING THE SOLICITOR'S SIDE OF THE WORK IN AROUND 25 PER CENT OF CIVIL AND 40 PER CENT OF THE CRIMINAL LEGAL AID CASES. THE REMAINDER OF THE STAFF ARE INVOLVED IN DETERMINING LEGAL AID APPLICATIONS AND IN THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCHEME. LAST YEAR THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES ROSE TO 18 400.
IN THE CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR (1981-82) THE DEPARTMENT WILL SPEND MORE THAN $10 MILLION ON CIVIL CASES AND $9.4 MILLION ON CRIMINAL TRIALS AND APPEALS.
THESE FIGURES