FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1993
COURT USERS COMMITTEE KICKS OFF
ONE OF THE THREE
THE CIVIL COURT USERS COMMITTEE
COURT USERS COMMITTEES RECENTLY LAUNCHED BY THE CHIEF JUSTICE, SIR TI LIANG YANG, AS PART OF THE INITIATIVES TO STREAMLINE THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE JUDICIARY HELD ITS FIRST MEETING THIS (FRIDAY) AFTERNOON.
SPEAKING AFTER THE MEETING, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE, MR JUSTICE BOKHARY OF THE COURT OF APPEAL, SAID THE MEETING HAD A USEFUL AND GENERAL DISCUSSION ON THE WAY FORWARD AND ON HOW THE COMMITTEE SHOULD BEST FULFIL ITS FUNCTION.
"AT OUR FIRST MEETING, WE DID FOUR MAIN THINGS. FIRST, WE 'DEVISED A WORKING METHOD. SECONDLY, WE CONSIDERED OUR LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES. THIRDLY, WE IDENTIFIED SOME OF THE TOPICS MOST IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. FOURTHLY, WE DISCUSSED THREE OF THOSE TOPICS: LISTING; WAITING TIMES; AND PRE-TRIAL REVIEWS.
"WE DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE DIFFICULTY OF OUR TASK. BUT WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN MAKE A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN HONG KONG."
APART FROM THE CIVIL COURT USERS COMMITTEE, THE OTHER TWO COMMITTEES ARE THE CRIMINAL COURT USERS COMMITTEE AND THE TRIBUNAL COURT USERS COMMITTEE.
THE FORMER IS CHAIRED BY MR JUSTICE POWER OF THE COURT OF APPEAL AND THE LATTER BY MR GERARD MUTTRIE, THE CHIEF MAGISTRATE.
ALL THREE COMMITTEES ARE TASKED TO ADVISE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MATTERS OF CONCERN TO USERS OF THE COURTS.
THESE INCLUDE COURT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURES, ADMINISTRATION, THE USE OF TECHNNOLOGY AND FACILITIES BUILDINGS.
ON
COURT
IN COURT
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEES ARE DRAWN FROM THE LEGAL PROFESSION, RELEVANT GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND THE JUDICIARY.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, PARTICIPATION BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO DO NOT BELONG TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION HAS ALSO BEEN INVITED.
THE MEMBERS OF THE CIVIL COURT USERS COMMITTEE ARE MR GEOFFREY MA, QC OF THE BAR ASSOCIATION; MR TIMOTHY PARKES OF THE LAW SOCIETY; JUDGE WILSON OF THE DISTRICT COURT; MR PATRICK HAMLIN, DEPUTY CROWN SOLICITOR; MR MICHAEL TURNBULL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF LEGAL AID; AND MR
LEE JARK-PUI.
THE CRIMINAL COURT USERS COMMITTEE AND THE TRIBUNAL COURT USERS COMMITTEE WILL BE MEETING SHORTLY.
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