XN000022-1994-12-05 — Page 11

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Law Society Council's endorsement of CFA Bill welcomed

The Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, this (Monday) afternoon welcomed the Law Society Council's endorsement of the bill to establish the Court of Final Appeal.

Speaking to reporters after a luncheon address to the Swiss Business Council, Mrs Chan said: "I understand that some members of the legal profession have reservations about the bill and we respect their reservations but we do have a decision to make."

Noting that the Government had reached an agreement with the Chinese in 1991 on the setting up of the Court of Final Appeal, Mrs Chan said: "We need to set up this Court of Final Appeal as quickly as possible and it is our intention to put the draft bill before the Legislation Council early next year.'

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Mrs Chan said the Government was awaiting the comments from the legal profession and she very much hoped that the legal profession as a whole would see fit to endorse the bill.

"If they have any suggested amendments to the bill, we would be happy to consider them.

"But I repeat again. We cannot agree to any amendments that would place us in breach of the 1991 agreement," she added.

end/Monday, December 5, 1994

Date set for 1995 LegCo elections

The 1995 Legislative Council elections are to be held on September 17, a Government spokesman announced today (Monday).

A notice to formally appoint the election date will be published in the gazette in due course.