Reference.
Mr. A. W. Gaminara (Hong Kong Department)
3
It seems to me that the arguments put forward in paragraph 5 of Sir Leslie Monson's minute of 12 February show some anfusion as to the reason for the Legal Advisers' objections. The reason is not to ensure that the accused's relations and friends should be convinced that he has had a fair trial (in the cases which the Governor has in mind, it would, I suggest, be impossible to convince the accused's relatives and colleagues that his trial had been fair), but to ensure that circumstances could not arise in Hong Kong in which a person could be arrested and that would be all that his relations and colleagues would know. Unfortunately this kind of thing has happened in some countries in recent times, i.e. a man has been arrested and that is the last that is ever heard of him.
2. In my view there is nothing macabre in the accused's relations and colleagues being present in court to see what happens to him. In the United Kingdom.it would only be in exceptional cases, that some of the relations of an accused person would not be present in court to hear the verdict and sentence.
3.
From my own experience, I cannot agree with the suggestion that if a few relatives and friends of the accused are permitted to be in court to hear the verdict and sentence, (that is to say while the judge states "You have been found guildy of.... and I sentence you to .... years imprisonment") it is likely to prevent the proper discharge of the judicial processes. have recently had an example here as to how a judge can cope with a situation of mob interference in court. Admittedly in Hong Kong the position would be much more difficult but it should not be beyond the capability of a judge or magistrate to control a few persons only in court while the verdict and sentence is being pronounced.
4.
We
As regards Sir Leslie's proposal in paragraph 6 of his minute, I would be most surprised if a Chief Justice would agree to give judges and magistrates directions as to how they were to exercise a discretion conferred by statute to give a direction to the effect that certain specified persons should be admitted to the court. The most it would, in my view, be proper of a Chief Justice to do would be to ask judges and magistrates to give consideration when acting under Section 122 to permitiga number of relatives and other persons closely connected with the accused to attend their trial or be in court while the verdict and sentence is being pronounced.
However, this would not be satisfactory from a legal point of view. Lawyers, and normally
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