5 -
the introduction of fee assessment for all standard briefing out cases so that counsel's brief is marked with a fee commensurate with the length and complexity of the case;
*the imposition of a maximum, capped monthly payment, stipulated either on a per counsel basis or per case basis for large and complex cases so that approvals for payments exceeding the limit or the cap have to be given by the Law Officers and brought to the attention of the Attorney General; and
* if payments are made on an hourly basis, which will be exceptional, the private counsel will be asked to submit very detailed record of work done for checking the reasonableness of hours claimed.
Mr Mathews said the Legal department was always mindful to improve the briefing out system and have regularly reviewed its operation.
"I shall study both the Director of Audit's Report and the internal audit team report carefully to see what further improvements should be made," said the Attorney General.
End/Monday, May 1, 1995
Law Reform Commission publishes consultation paper on fraud
The Law Reform Commission today (Monday) published a consultation paper on "Creation of a Substantive Offence of Fraud". The paper has been issued to elicit public comment on the Commission's preliminary proposal that a new offence of fraud should be enacted in Hong Kong.
In announcing the release of the paper, the Secretary to the Commission, Mr Stuart Stoker, explained that at present Hong Kong did not possess a general offence of fraud. He said instead there are a number of specific offences (such as obtaining property by deception) provided in the Theft Ordinance.