TNAG-0396-FCO40-442-Problem-of-increase-in-crime-in-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 43

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SOUTH

CHINA

MAY 15T

73

MORNING POST

Lawyers' criticism of anti-crime Balo

The criticisms. by Justice and the Bar Association of the anti-crime Bills which the Government will introduce in the Legislative Council shortly are not a condemnation of the Fight Violent Crime Campaign as such, but of some of the weapons the Government proposes to

usc.

But the criticisins have been conscientiously made by lawyers concerned to ensure that while we prosecute crime with greater vigour we do not crode the judicial processes or jeopardise the chances of the accused person of a fair trial.

The demand is perfectly reasonable; we cannot count as a success a campaign against violent crime which also succeeds in weakening our judicial system and diminishing the reputation of the courts.

The proposal to confer on magistrates and district judges the right to impose longer and in some cases mandatory sentences would, we agree, be far less contentious if it were accompanied by wider legal aid for the accused.

Other criticisms touch on the fitness of magistrates, in terms of maturity and experience, to apply these powers in a way that would ensure that justice is done.

There are also fears that in a system where the accused is unrepresented on a charge which could result in a long prison sentence, the prosecution will bave a considerable advantage. This could, as the critics argue, increase the risk of innocent people being wrongly convicted.

It is not possible, however, to agree with all the objections made by Justice and the Bar Association.

We have urged the Government before now to introduce mandatory minimum sentences for certain offences and while they do limit the ability of the court to consider each case on its merits, as the critics point out, we consider they have a place in Hongkong's laws.

There is, furthermore, a tendency in some lower courts for rubber-stamp "justice" to prevail because of the large volume of cases that have to be heard; the need for more judges and courts is, therefore, essential but at the same time the Government must accept a greater obligation to provide legal aid for accused people.

Reference was made by the Bar Association to the possibility of the Chicf Justice appointing more Commissioners from the ranks of the Bar to hear serious criminal cases, though the Association will be aware that there is no general enthusiasm among barristers to assume this duty.

Preventive detention is another point of criticism as well as an increasing resort to corporal punishment. Both are made necessary by the exigencies of the times though neither should be resorted to without the strictest safeguards to ensure that it is applied only where fully justified.

As for juries, they undoubtedly have their value in the British judicial system though in a community where many jurors have a less than perfect understanding of the language of the courts, it may be wondered whether they are invariably effective instruments of justice.

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