WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1987
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LEGAL SYSTEM CONTRIBUTED TO HK'S SUCCESS
HONG KONG OWES PART OF ITS SUCCESS TO ITS LEGAL SYSTEM, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, MR MICHAEL THOMAS, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY US TIME) IN NEW YORK.
SPEAKING ON THE FIRST DAY OF AN EIGHT-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT THAT WILL TAKE HIM TO NEW YORK, BOSTON, LONDON AND PARIS, MR THOMAS SAID: H HONG KONG LIKE SO MANY OUTPOSTS OF BRITISH TRADE ↓ COMMERCE, INHERITED THE COMMON LAW IN ITS GOLDEN AGE.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WAS ADDRESSING AN AUDIENCE OF MEMBERS OF BAR MAINLY INVOLVED WITH MATTERS RELATING TO CONSULAR AND DIPLOMATIC LAW AT A DINNER MEETING OF THE CONSULAR LAW SOCIETY.
THE
"WE HAVE A LEGAL SYSTEM LARGELY REFLECTING THE BEST FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM, WITH INCORRUPTIBLE JUDGES AND SKILLFUL PRACTITIONERS, INTERNATIONALIST IN OUTLOOK AND TRAINING, HE SAID.
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IT WAS THE FACT THAT THE RULE OF LAW WAS WELL ESTABLISHED, THAT THE JUDGES HAD INDEPENDENCE, THAT THE COURTS WERE SECOND TO IN THIS REGION THAT HAD ATTRACTED MANY TO HONG KONG.
NONE
"THEY KNOW THAT THEIR CONTRACTS WILL BE ENFORCED, THAT
IS
REMEDIES WILL BE AFFORDED WHERE WRONGS HAVE BEEN DONE. THEY KNOW TOO THAT CRIME IS VIGOROUSLY PROSECUTED AND THAT ON THE WHOLE JUSTICE DONE IN THE COURTS, HE SAID.
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TO PROVIDE LEGAL SERVICES, MR THOMAS SAID THAT HONG 1,500 SOLICITORS AND OVER 300 BARRISTERS, MOST OF WHOM HAD LOCALLY, ALTHOUGH MANY HAD BEEN TRAINED IN THE INNS OF LONDON AND UNIVERSITIES OVERSEAS.
KONG HAD GRADUATED COURT IN
"MORE THAN 100 QUEENS COUNSEL TRAVEL EACH YEAR FROM THE U.K. TO APPEAR IN SOME OF HONG KONG'S MAJOR CASES.
"WE HAVE JUDGES FROM MANY DIFFERENT COMMON LAW COUNTRIES, AS WELL AS SOME FROM HONG KONG. THE COURTS ARB READY TO CONSIDER NOT ONLY HONG KONG CASES BUT JUDICIAL PRECEDENTS FROM MANY OTHER PLACES.
"FOREIGN LAWYERS ARE PERMITTED TO COME IN AND ΤΟ ESTABLISH PRACTICES IN ORDER TO SERVE FOREIGN BANKS AND TRADING GROUPS IN THEIR REGIONAL ACTIVITIES. THERE ARE MANY SUCH FIRMS IN HONG KONG, FROM AMERICA, CANADA, GERMANY, THE PHILIPPINES, HOLLAND ETC, HE SAID.
TURNING TO THE FUTURE, MR THOMAS SAID THE JOINT DECLARATION PROVIDED THAT HONG KONG'S SYSTEM OF
LAW,
ADMINISTRATION AND THE ECONOMY, ITS LIFE-STYLE AND FREEDOMS WOULD REMAIN UNCHANGED FOR 50 YEARS AFTER 1997.
/IT ALSO