TNAG-0258-FCO40-294-Legislation-relating-to-criminal-procedure-in-Hong-Kong-1971 — Page 102

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

W(B)L 51-7406

CONFIDENTIAL

in 1951. (although this Convention has not been

applied to Hong Kong).

(2) that so far as Section 122 is concerned,

it is true that the press cannot be excluded

either from the hearing of a case or during

the announcement of the verdict. But this

will not enable relatives and friends of the

The

accussed actually to see verdict passed on the

accused; nor will it necessarily ensure that

they will know what has happened to the

accused

used. This is because:

(a)

the press might not report the result of

the case;

(b) the case might be reported in a newspaper

which the relatives and friends did not see;

(c) the case might be reported in a news-

paper printed in a language not known to the

relatives and friends;

(a) even if the judgment and sentence were

reported in a newspaper normally read by

the relatives and friends of the accused, they

might miss the item since the date on which

judgment and sentence were to be announced

might not have been known to them; and

(e)

even if they saw the verdict in a news-

paper, they might be doubtful whether it was

a true report.

후rue

910.

It is undoubtedly the case that during

the disturbances of 1967, the courts in

Indeed,

Hong Kong had at times to operate in

circumstances of extreme difficulty.

there were occasions when magistrates had

been chased by communist-inspired mobs, not

only from the court precincts but also from

the court itself. The Governor's desire

5 -

CONFIDENTIAL