XN000022-1996-02-06 — Page 4

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Improvements to legal services to be implemented

The Government has obtained clear public support for most of its provisional recommendations to improve the delivery of legal services in Hong Kong, including a proposal to abolish scale fees in conveyancing work. These improvements have either been implemented or are set to be implemented.

Announcing government plans for implementation of the proposals today (Tuesday), the Attorney General, Mr Jeremy Mathews, said 34 of the 40 recommendations that were discussed in the consultation paper issued in March last year had had clear public support.

There was clear public opposition to only one recommendation and public views were evenly divided in respect of five recommendations.

This feedback from the public was obtained from direct submissions to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) and from a public opinion survey of 1,000 households conducted by the Department of Applied Statistics and Operational Research of the City University of Hong Kong, supplemented by a survey of views expressed in the press.

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The views submitted directly to AGC, at the conclusion of the four-month 37 submissions were made by consultation exercise, showed a keen response institutions including the Law Society and Bar Association, 29 were made by lawyers and 21 were from individual members of the public, making a total of 87.

AGC has published a Report on Legal Services, which summarises the feedback received and makes proposals for the way forward. Copies of the report will be made available to members of the legal profession as well as the general public.

Focal issues

Two of the proposals that had clear public support - permitting solicitors to acquire extended rights of audience in the higher courts and abolishing scale fees in conveyancing work were strongly opposed by the Bar Association and the Law Society respectively.

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These two proposals were also the only issues raised at a meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services on January 9, 1996, at which the Attorney General announced the results of the consultation exercise.