XN000022-1973-06-20 — Page 9

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Wednesday, June 20, 1973.

SENTENCING POWERS OF MAGISTRATES SET ASIDE

The Legislative Council today set aside, for the time being,

proposed draft legislation which seeks to increase the sentencing powers

of certain magistrates,

The decision to postpone the second reading of the Magistrates

(Amendment) Bill 1973 followed a further examination of the bill, in

consultation with the new Chief Justice.

In moving the motion for the adjournment, however, the acting

Attorney General, the Hon. J. Hobley, emphasised that the decision not to

proceed immediately with the bill should in no way be regarded as a weakening

in the government's resolve in the fight against crime.

He explained that several factors had contributed to the conclusion

that the bill might "safely be postponed for a while without prejudico to the

interest which both the community and accused persons have in the early trial

of criminal charges."

An important factor, he said, was that time ought to be taken to

see whether the recent increase in the number of District Judges was suffi-

cient to enable the District Court to deal effectively with any further

increase in the number of criminal cases coming before it.

Furthermore, he went on, Unofficial Members had expressed concern

that, if some of the criminal cases now tried in the District Court were to

be tried before the magistrates' courts, legal aid should be available to the

accused in those cases,

This is a