APPENDIX “E”
Hon. Sir Michael Hogan,
Chief Justice,
Supreme Court,
November 15, 1967.
HONG KONG,
Dear Chief Justice,
re: FEES IN ASSIGNED CRIMINAL CASES
I have consulted with he Bar Committee on your letter of September 25.
The Bar Committee feels that the temporary scale sug- gested by you would be retrogressive for the majority of barristers.
The Bar Committee views with dismay your proposal for a working party because of the inevitable delay this will necessitate. Bearing in mind that the issue here is whether barristers should be paid higher fees out of public funds, it is felt that your proposed constitution of the working party is heavily weighted against the Bar. We feel that any in- quiry into this matter should be on the lines of an arbitration, with a non-civil servant (e.g. a chartered accountant and/or a member of the Finance Committee) as arbitrator or chair- man and one representative each of the Judiciary, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society.
The Bar Committee does not feel it is fair to relate this matter to a social service so that free legal aid should be supplied in the name of the community at the expense of legal practitioners by compelling them to undertake cases at fees fixed in 1952. It is to be noted that the judges and
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