TNAG-0398-FCO40-444-Appointments-to-supreme-and-district-courts-from-the-Bar-in--1973 — Page 72

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3. Obstacles to the recruitment of more able people probably

include salaries and the inadequacy of housing for newly-arrived

Government servants in Hong Kong. The English Bar is now a more

profitable career for young barristers than it used to be.

Better people might also apply if they were appointed from the

start on probation to the permanent establishment, rather than

on an initial contract as at present. The argument that ambitious

lawyers might be prepared to go to Hong Kong for a short period

but not for life has little relevance to such a competitive

profession where relatively short periods of absence are likely

to have a lasting effect.

The

4. All this adds up to a rather unsatisfactory picture.

Hong Kong Government have tried to find other sources of

recruitment. Australia and New Zealand can provide some

magistrates and Hong Kong University will eventually do so.

5. The recruitment of magistrates and their status is very

much a matter for the Chief Justice of Hong Kong, and we propose

that the next step should be for Mr Fifoot to discuss the problem

with the Chief Justice elect.

JUDGES

6. Mr Rees is not satisfied with the Secretary of State's

letter of 8 November, which he describes as "a rather non-

committal reply obviously giving the Civil Service point of view".

On Mr Rushford's advice, this reply was based on the answer to a

petition on the same subject from the Hong Kong Bar Association.

Mr Rees does not advance any new arguments and there is nothing

of substance that we can add at present.

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