TNAG-0193-FCO40-229-Representations-from-Hong-Kong-Bar-Association-particularly--1970 — Page 37

G.F. 73A

0000731

The undersigned Senior Magistrates

and Magistrates

MEMO

To The Registrar, Supreme Court.

From..

Ref.

jn.

Tel. No.

Date.

25th February, 1969.

Your Ref (20). in.

dated

SC/CR/91/68

2nd November, 1968.

о

29/*

1.

Thank you for your memo dated 2nd November, 1968.

We regret that the nature of the assurances which we seek are not fully understood. We would have clarified them several months ago had we realized that our correspondence was in any way equivocal.

2.

Paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of our memo of 14th June, 1968 set our the matters which give rise to our apprehension.

It would appear that the question raised in paragraph 5 no longer needs to be pursued, but the question raised in paragraph 4 still exercises our minds.

3.

We felt at the time of our first memo, (and in the absence of any indication to the contrary still feel), apprehension that the prospects of promotion for magistrates to the District Court Bench are seriously jeopardised from two entirely separate possible quarters :-

A) By appointment of lawyers from non-Government sources

e.g. members of the Bar in this Colony, or elsewhere; and

B) By appointment of lawyers from the Legal Department of

this Colony.

We have so far not experienced the former, but we cannot remain unaware of current pressures in this direction.

As to the latter category, however, there have been a number of transfers over the past few years of Legal Department officers at senior level, and it is undeniable that those transfers have set back the promotion prospects of magistrates by a period of years.

4.

follows:-

The nature of the assurances we seek can be summarized as

That there will be no appointments from outside the Service to judicial posts, unless there is no available officer already in the Service competent to fill the vacancy.

That there will be no further transfers from the Legal or any other Government Department to the posts of Senior Magistrate or District Judge unless there is reciprocal transfer of a Judiciary officer to such other Department at equivalent leval, and even then in exceptional circumstances only.

Cont/