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"Our aim is to put in place a framework which will allow the use of Chinese, along with English, in all judicial proceedings by July 1, 1997," the spokesman added.
As the implementation would be in phases, the spokesman reiterated that the present practice in which only English court documents would be accepted for filing in the District Court or above and all documents to be produced in courts must be translated into English and certified by official translators would continue.
"When the courts are ready to accept the filing and production of documents in Chinese, a public announcement will be duly made," the spokesman said.
End/Wednesday, July 5, 1995
Supreme Court (Amendment) Bill 1995
Following is the speech by the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, in moving the second reading of the Supreme Court (Amendment) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
I am most grateful to the Chairman of the Bills Committee, the Hon. Andrew Wong, and to Members of the Bills Committee for their study of this short but important Bill. The proposal to make solicitors who have practised as such in Hong Kong for 10 years eligible for direct appointment as Supreme Court judges would extend the pool of eligible candidates and would ensure that no suitable lawyer is excluded from consideration.
When considering the Bill, Members of the Bills Committee quite rightly asked whether this amendment could lead to the appointment of unsuitable persons and therefore asked for, and were supplied with, the criteria adopted by the Judicial Service Commission when considering the suitability of candidates. It is not for the Administration to comment on these criteria, since the Judicial Service Commission is an independent body. However, I understand that the disclosure of the criteria to the Bills Committee has reassured most Members of the Committee that inappropriate appointments are best avoided by considering the suitability of a candidate, rather than by imposing a narrow test of eligibility.