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POINT
5
REMARKS
As stated in the Commonwealth Office brief above "these and other problems would require very careful consideration both here (i.e. in London) and in Hong Kong. It is suggested that, as soon as we have the next draft of this Bill available, it should be sent to London for consideration. It seems possible that may be a "reserved Bill" falling within Royal Instruction XXVI (8): "any Bill of an extraordinary nature and importance whereby our prerogative may be prejudiced."
As will be seen from the comments on the various clauses above, the Bill departs in a number of ways from the provisions of the U.K. Bill, being more closely modelled upon the New Zealand provisions. It is believed that, when the question of setting up a Parliamentary Commissioner was under consideration in the U.K., the New Zealand statute was set aside in favour of the shorter and less precise U.K. Act.
In general, it seems that the degree of precision of the Commissioner's powers introduced by the New Zealand model may be undesirable in Hong Kong and that adherence to the U.K. model, which has additional safeguards for the administration, would be preferable.
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In the comments on clause 21 above, the Establishment Officer has referred to the need to discuss certain aspects of the Bill with the Civil Service Associations. He has pointed out that the effect of the Bill on the morale of officers of the Civil Service may be serious, The relationship between the Commissioner and the Advisory Committee on Corruption also needs consideration. As the Bill reads at present: it seems that the Commissioner will have powers to investigate complaints about corruption which will undoubtedly be a prominent feature of the items reported to him, Establishment Branch wishes to consider this further in conjunction with the Legal Department and the Police.
6
It seems essential to let Heads of Departments see the next draft of this Bill so that he consider its effort on their own individual departments, particularly in relation to the nature and number of the complaints which will come within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner. They will also wish to consider in detail how the schedules to the Bill affect their own departments and to discuss the matter with the Committees, Councils and Boards in Part II of the First Schedule e.g. Board of Education, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Urban Council and others.
(The question of relationship with the Urban Council Ward System will arise.)
12th August, 1968
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