XN000022-1986-07-23 — Page 17

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1986

HE ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG SHOULD SET UP A FACULTY OF LAW TO TRAIN PEOPLE TO FILL THE GAP IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND THE JUDICIARY VACATED BY EXPATRIATES AS 1997 DREW NEARER.

HE SAID HE FELT THAT LOCALISATION SHOULD NOT PROCEED TOO QUICKLY BEFORE LOCAL INSTITUTIONS COULD PRODUCE LAWYERS IN SUFFICIENT NUMBERS.

+ IT IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE THAT THE HIGH CALIBRE OF THE JUDICIARY MUST BE UPHELD, EVEN IF IT MEANS LOCALISATION HAS TO BE SLOWED DOWN, HE SAID.

MR LEE SAID HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROVISION OF SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION SERVICE, NOTING THAT THE SALARIES OF SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETERS HAD REMAINED UNCHANGED SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SERVICE IN 1971 DESPITE A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE DEMAND ON THEIR WORK, BOTH IN QUANTITY AND IN COMPLEXITY.

HE SAID HE BELIEVED THAT BILINGUAL LEGISLATION WOULD FURTHER INCREASE THE IMPORTANCE AND THE DEMAND FOR SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION AT VARIOUS LEVELS OF COMMITTEES, BOARDS AND COUNCILS, AND URGED THAT THE CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF THE VARIOUS GRADES OF SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETERS BE REVIEWED.

+I DOUBT IF THE PRESENT COMPENSATION PACKAGE AND CAREER STRUCTURE WILL ATTRACT AND RETAIN PEOPLE OF THE RIGHT CALIBRE IN SUFFICIENT NUMBERS,+ HE SAID.

PAPER FAILS TO ADDRESS SOME PROBLEMS

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THE DISCUSSION PAPER ON THE LAWS IN CHINESE HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS ARISING FROM THE FACT THAT HONG KONG'S JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE COMMON LAW SYSTEM, THE HON TAI CHIN-WAH SAID IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

SPEAKING DURING THE ADJOURNMENT DEBATE ON THE PAPER, MR TAI SAID THAT MUCH OF THE EXISTING LEGISLATION IN HONG KONG WAS GUIDED BY COMMON LAW PRINCIPLES WHICH WERE BASED ON ESTABLISHED CUSTOMS AND LEGAL PRECEDENTS OF OTHER COMMON LAW JURISDICTIONS.

MANY OF THE COMMON LAW RULES WERE UNWRITTEN AND YET WERE WELL UNDERSTOOD BY LOCAL LEGAL PRACTITIONERS, HE NOTED.

/+TO MAKE