XN000022-1973-01-19 — Page 5

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Friday, January 19, 1973

GREATER POWER FOR COURTS TO DEAL WITH YOUNG OFFENDERS

Juvenile Courts To Be Set Up

A bill aimed at improving the procedure of juvenile courts and

offering greater protection to young offenders and expanding the court's powers of dealing with them, is to be introduced into the Legislative Council

shortly.

The Juvenile Offenders (Amendment) Bill 1973 gives effect to

recommendations made by a Working Party set up by the Chief Justice in 1968

to examine the existing arrangements for dealing with juvenile offenders.

If the bill is passed, juvenile courts to be presided over by

magistrates appointed by the Chief Justice exclusively for that purpose will

be set up.

One of the main provisions of the bill is that the minimum age of

criminal responsibility will be raised from seven to 10 years.

Another provision of the bill is that a juvenile court, when

determining the method of dealing with an offender, may choose to take the advice of two persons selected by it from a Juvenile Courts Advisory Panel

appointed by the Chief Justice.

The members of the panel will be appointed because of their knowledge

of and experience in dealing with young people.

The bill also provides, among other things, that the parent or guardian of a juvenile offender is required to attend at all stages of proceedings, unless

the court orders otherwise,

The main recommendations, made by the Working Party and accepted by

the Chief Justice, include the setting up of two juvenile courts

Kong and another in Kowloon permanent magistrates who will deal exclusively with all juvenile cases.

one in Hong

and the appointment of one or, if necessary, two

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