XN000022-1995-05-10 — Page 26

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Bill to improve the administration of justice

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The Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) No. 2) Bill, which proposes to amend laws relating to the administration of justice and legal services, press freedom and human rights was introduced into the Legislative Council today (Wednesday).

Moving the second reading of the Bill, the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, said the Bill was part of an on-going process of keeping the law relating to the administration of justice under constant review, in order to ensure that it was efficient and effective.

Outlining the proposed amendments relating to the administration of justice and legal services, Mr Mathews said the bill provided that a party to criminal proceedings who proposed to introduce expert evidence should all give advance notice to the other party.

He said the absence of such a requirement could cause unfairness to the prosecution where expert evidence was tendered by the defence at trial.

It might lead to misconceived scientific evidence being unchallenged, or to the trial being adjourned whilst the prosecution obtained its own expert evidence, he said.

Mr Mathews noted that another amendment provided the Attorney General the power to appeal to the Court of Appeal against a High Court judge's decision to quash an indictment.

He said at present, the only way to challenge the correctness of such a decision was to appeal directly to the Privy Council, which was considered undesirable when an appeal to the Court of Appeal would be quicker and less costly,

Another aspect of the Bill was to extend the Law Society's right of intervention in respect of a solicitor's practice so as to afford greater protection to a solicitor's clients.

This would enable the Law Society to act decisively where urgent action was needed, particularly in cases of dishonesty, undue delay and failure to comply with the accounts rules, Mr Mathews noted.