HKLOY
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London S.W.1
27 June, 1973
36
28
པ་)(?
I wrote to you on 12 June in reply to your letter of
5 June about the new Bills which were being considered by the
Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Since then we have heard from the Governor that, before
the copy of your letter reached him, he had decided, in
consultation with the new Chief Justice, to adjourn the debate on the Magistrates (Amendment) Bill. The need for it can
therefore be reconsidered in the light of the fact that two additional District Judgeships have recently been created.
It seems that the extra work load could be carried by the District Courts and that no increase in the Magistrates' powers
may be necessary, at least for the time being. Furthermore the Governor has under consideration the possibility of appointing practising members of the Hong Kong bar to the two new District
Judgeships.
This should meet your members' most pressing concerns, particularly their worries about the absence of legal aid in the
Magistrates Courts and the calibre and origins of the District
Court judges.
The Right Hon. The Lord Gardiner
сту
Consent to bol See Mongkong Teaks
срок 3/7
/At the
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.