7
HENRY LITTON, Q. C.
•
732. PRINCE'S BUILDING.
DES VOEUX ROAD, CENTR Jacke
HONG KONG,
TELEPHONE: CHAMBERS: H-2304 2 5
RESIDENCE: H-93277
29th September, 1971.
John Tilney, Esq., M.P. 3, Victoria Square, London, S. W.
W. 1W OQZ., ENGLAND.
Dear John
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I wonder if I could trouble you with regard to a
matter which is causing the legal profession in Hong Kong
a little concern.
The matter could be put very simply. No member
of the Supreme Court or District Court Bench, past or
present, has ever practised either as a barrister (or solicitor) in Hong Kong.
This is not the first time the point has been taken:
it has been the consistent plea of the Hong Kong Bar for some
years that a beginning ought to be made for local appointments
to the ranks of the judiciary beyond the magisterial level. For instance, in the Report of the Chairman of the Hong Kong
Bar in 1969 strong criticism was made of the system of
appointments by hierarchical promotions within the Service.
In the course of his Report the Chairman said: "That which
must never be allowed to happen in England is the norm in
Hong Kong and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Common-
wealth Relations has actively perpetuated this state of
affairs, not only by making promotions within the judiciary,
but also by making appointments to the Bench from the Colony Legal Service.
No member of the Bar in Hong Kong has been
appointed a judge in Hong Kong,
-
What is adding greater weight to this grievance is
cont.
U
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