TOP Y.
Sir,
C.O. Chambers
24978 RECR 541
Supreme Court House, Hongkong, 18th June, 1909.
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's letter No. 8837/06, dated 15th instant, enquiring whether in my opinion it would be feasible to appoint the Senior Police Magistrate of the Colony to sit as an Appeal Judge.
In reply, I would state that I do not think it would be worth while to appoint the Senior Police Magistrate merely as such to the Court of Appeal.
There is after all no guarantee that the Senior Magistrate would have the qualifications necessary to sit in an Appeal Court.
It has never, so far as I know, been definitely laid down that the Senior Magistrate must be a Barrister, and there is no special reason why he should have had any sort of legal training.
I doubt whether the addition of a member who had had merely Police Court experience would strengthen the Appeal Court in any way, or give greater satisfaction to litigants. The subject matter of the Appeals brought within the last few years in the Hongkong Court ranges over the whole field of English law, and the opinion of a layman on points often of extreme technicality would be of small authority.
I presume that possibly later on, if the circumstances of the Colony appear to require it, the question of a third Judge may again be brought up. I believe that the possibility of obtaining an Appeal Judge from the Straits Settlements has been already considered.
Meanwhile, I venture to think that the existing difficulty might be met if Your Excellency took power to appoint from time to time as temporary member of the Appeal Court such person...
"
t
OP Y.
sir,
C.0.
Chambers
24978
RECR
541
Supreme Court House JUL OST
Hongkong, 18th. June, 1909.
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's letter No. 8837/06, dated 15th. instant, enquiring whether in my opinion it would be feasible to appoint the Senior Police Magistrate of the Colony to sit as an Appeal
Judge.
In reply, I would state that I do not think
it would be worth while to appoint the Senior Police Magistrate merely as such to the Court of Appeal.
There is after all no guarantee that the Senior Magistrate would have the qualifications necessary to
sit in an Appeal Court.
It has never, so far as I know been de-
-finitely laid down that the Senior Magistrate must be a Barrister, and there is no special reason why he should have had any sort of legal training.
I doubt whether the addition of a member
who had had marely Police Court experience would strengthen the Appeal Court in any way, or give greater satisfaction to liti- -gants. The subject matter of the Appeals brought within the last few years in the Hongkong Court ranges over the whole field of English law, and the opinion of a layman on points often of extreme technicality would be of small authority. I presume that possibly later on, if the circumstances of the Colony appear to require it, the question of a third Judge may again be brought up. I believe that the possibility of obtaining an Appeal Judge from the Straits Settlements has been already considered. Meanwhile I venture to think that the existing difficulty might be met if Your Excellency took power to appoint from time to time as temporary member of the Appeal Court such
person
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