TNAG-0352-FCO40-388-Appointments-to-judiciary-of-Hong-Kong-1972 — Page 118

£600027

C.S. 20A (Rev.)

CONFIDENTIAL

SAVING DESPATCH

From the Governor, Hong Kong

To the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

37

RECEIVED ON

Repeated to:-

Repeated to:-

-4 MAY 1972

Date.............

25

April, 1972...

My Reference...... CR 4/3221/63...

Your Reference HICK 146

IZAT

ម

12. all HKK14/51

REF.

18 | 5 | 1411

1950

Appointments to the Supreme Court and District Court from the Hong Kong Bar.

As indicated in Roberts' letter to Laird dated 31st December 1971 we have received two petitions addressed to the Secretary of State, one from the Hong Kong Bar Association (the "bar petition") and one from a group of two District Jud- ges and eight magistrates (the "judicial officers' petition"). Both raise the issue, about which we have been corresponding over a long period, of appointments from the Hong Kong Bar to senior judicial posts in Hong Kong. I now formally submit these two petitions to you, with the following comments.

2.

The history of this matter is adequately summarized

HICK/4/10 in Laird's letter of 9th November 1970 to Holmes, in which it

was indicated that the Secretary of State would not be prepared to give any undertaking as to how future vacancies to the Sup- reme Court Bench would be filled, but that the views of the Hong Kong Bar Association would be kept in mind.

3.

This letter referred to an earlier agreement with Sir David Trench that it might occasionally be desirable to appoint to the Supreme Court someone from the Hong Kong Bar who has had extensive experience of private practice. Such appointments would be exceptional but not necessarily precluded because there was a service candidate suitable for promotion. It was suggested that, as there would be several vacancies in the Supreme Court in 1972/73, this might afford a suitable opportunity for an appoint- ment from the bar.

PICK1/1 @ 4.

1971

In my predecessor's reply to Laird's letter (Saving Des- patch Staff 32 dated 10th March 1971) it was proposed that, as appointments to the Supreme Court from outside the service would be an innovation in Hong Kong, and were likely to be regarded by members of the service as a diminution of their promotion pros- pects, they should be given some warning of the possibility of such appointments. A draft circular designed to give such warning was forwarded for your consideration.

5.

However, Laird's letter to Sir Hugh Norman Walker, dated

PKKI4/1428) 7th July 1971, argued that the issue of the circular might be cons-

1971

trued as fettering the Crown's freedom of action in making appoint- ments to the Bench, and that the members of the service might chal- lenge a particular appointment from the bar on the ground that it offended the terms of the circular. Consequently, no such circular has been issued.

CONFIDENTIAL

.....6.