AMENDMENT TO LEGAL PRACTITIONERS
ORDINANCE
A draft Bill to amend the Legal Practitioners Ordinance was referred to the Bar Committee on 26th January 1967. The matter was referred to a Sub-Committee comprising Cheung, Q.C., Arculli and Mills-Owens which was asked to report on the proposed Bill by 28th February. Cheung and Arculli were elected Chairman and Hon. Secretary of this Sub-Committee respectively.
Of the proposed amendments to the Legal Practitioners Ordinance contained in the Bill only Sections 7-11 appeared to affect the Bar directly and in view of the short time avail- able only these Sections were considered. However further recommendations outside the scope of the draft Bill were made. The Sub-Committee sent in a written Report to the Bar Committee together with an amended draft of the relevant Sections of the Bill. These were forwarded to the Legal Department on 4th April 1967.
A principal aim of the proposed amendments is to ensure that a Barrister has completed a period of pupillage either in the Chambers of another practising Barrister and or by participating in the Post Final course of the Council of Legal Education, before he commences practice at the Bar in Hong Kong. The new Section 27 of the Ordinance seeks to achieve this. However the Sub-Committee was of the view that the proposed amendments should distinguish between the requirements for admission and enrolment on the one hand and practice on the other. It was felt that the procedure in the United Kingdom could be followed whereby the requirement of pupillage was not a pre-requisite for admission simpliciter but only for those Barristers who hav- ing been admitted, wished to practise. It was suggested that
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