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Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 1997

Following is the speech by the Attorney General, Mr Jeremy Mathews, in moving the second reading of the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 1997 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

I move that the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 1997 be read the second time. The Bill aims to make provision in local legislation for the retirement and resignation of Supreme Court judges and District Judges. The opportunity is also taken to make a number of technical amendments relating to the administration of oaths of office to avoid problems that would otherwise arise on and after 1 July 1997. I shall now outline the main provisions of the Bill.

First, the present provisions for the retirement and resignation of Supreme Court judges and District Judges are contained in Article XVIA(1), (2) and (3) of the Letters Patent. As the Letters Patent will cease to apply to Hong Kong after 30 June 1997, these provisions need to be incorporated into local legislation. Clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill amend the Supreme Court Ordinance and the District Court Ordinance respectively to incorporate the provisions currently in the Letters Patent.

Secondly, section 17 of the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance provides that all judges and judicial officers specified in the Third Schedule to the Ordinance shall take the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath as soon as possible after their appointment. There is, however, no provision at present for a Justice of Appeal to take such oaths after appointment. As Justices of Appeal will need to take oaths following their appointment to the Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, clause 7 amends Part 1 of the Third Schedule to provide that a Justice of Appeal should also take the oaths after appointment.

Thirdly, section 7 of the Judicial Service Commission Ordinance states that members of the Commission shall on first appointment take an oath of office administered by a judge. The Judicial Service Commission will be retitled the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission on 1 July and new appointments will be made to the Commission. When it holds its first meeting on 1 July 1997 to recommend the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, no judges will have been appointed in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. A practical solution is required for this practical problem. In order to facilitate the administering of the oath of office to members of the Commission at that meeting and on future occasions, clause 8 amends section 7 of the Ordinance to enable a commissioner for oaths, in addition to a judge, to administer the oath.