CO129-548-12 Supreme Court Amendment Ordinance 1934 24-8-1934 - 5-9-1934 — Page 11

Enclosure No.4

Your Excellency,

Chief Justice's Chambers,

Courts of Justice,

Hong Kong.

4th July, 1934.

I have the honour to acknowledge the

receipt of your letter No.1/4299/1929 of 25th May on the

subject of the proposed amendment of section 11 of the

Supreme Court Ordinance 1873.

In a Colony of many races such as this it is

I think, of the utmost importance that the community generally

should be satisfied of the complete independence of the

judiciary. Neither I nor any of my brother judges could

personally have any grave objection to the proposed wording

of clause 3, for we know that in practice application for

the Governor's consent would be made extremely seldom, and

that if in exceptional circumstances such an application were

made the decision would be a proper and an amicable one. That

however is, in my opinion, only one aspect of the case, and

a relatively unimportant one. There is, I fear, a risk that

the public may form the impression, from the wording proposed,

that the conduct of judicial officers is subject to control

by the head of the Executive, and however unfounded such an

impression may be it should, I think, be avoided if possible.

I am further inclined to agree with your Excellenc

that the onus which the clause places upon the shoulders of

the Governor is an invidious one which it is undesirable that

he should be called upon to bear.

I should personally prefer to see the words

y