HKK 14/6
CONFIDENTIAL
Sir Vincent Evans (Legal Adviser)
Mr Stuart (HKIOD)
இ.
11/2/1
2. My notes of the points made in the enclosures to Mr Jackson- Lipkin's letter are also attached, plus a copy of the recent Times article and the letter from Mr Hogg referring to it.
HONG KONG : JUDICIAL SYSTEM
You may care to see the letter I had shortly before Christmas from Sir Denis Dobson and my reply, which was cleared with Mr Crowson.
3.
Sir Vincent may also like to see folios 54, 56 and 68 on HKK 14/11 (Part B).
4.
If it were thought helpful, I might perhaps send copies of my notes of Mr Jackson-Lipkin's points to the Chief Justice and the Attorney-General in Hong Kong, and accompany them with a note of my own canvassing various steps that I think it might be worth considering in order to meet some of the criticisms made.
5. You will recall that we quite recently had a reassuring letter about the quality of the magistracy from the Chief Justice but one suggestion I could make is to give them a wider civil jurisdiction so that they could gain experience in that field. I discussed this idea with Sir Michael Hogan a few days ago and he thought it had merit.
6. In replying to the Chief Justice I have already touched on the question of the form of magistrates! contracts, and I believe the contracts of the two District Judges recently appointed from the local bar are reasonably satisfactory. Nevertheless there may still be scope for improving the form of contract for judicial officers, for tidying Colonial Regulations in their application to judicial officers and for giving District Judges statutory security of tenure by means of an amending ordinance.
7.
Among the other points I have in mind is one I discussed with Sir Ivo Rigby a few weeks ago, namely whether District Judges could sit with assessors in criminal cases, eg the judge to sit with two lay Justices of the Peace drawn from the local community.
21 January 1974
A.R.R.
A R Rushford
Deputy Legal Adviser
CONFIDENTIAL
/Sir Vincent Evans
Page 150Page 151
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