TNAG-0499-FCO40-564-Administration-of-justice-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 99

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

31

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London S.W.1

18 April 1974

По

Sir Murray MacLehose KCMG MBE

His Excellency

Governor

HONG KONG

2414

We have not get receved de sepaati letter in to final

form. It is

we put

up

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I am writing to you separately about the quests

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e

of the administration of justice in Hong Kong which were the draft

raised by Lord Gardiner last summer. I think it wil apparent from my letter that, although we realise that fair amount of the criticism is off beam, there is a substantial feeling even among our own Legal Advisers, on the merits of the issues, that there is scope for improveme

18/4

I am sure that it will also have occurred to you that with the change of Government there is greater need to show that the representations made by Lord Gardiner, whose standing as former Lord Chancellor is very high, have been given their full weight. Lord Goronwy-Roberts has told me that he expects there will be increased interest in Hong Kong in the present Parliament particularly on social issues: and we must be ready to respond to this.

I fully recognise that you may see serious local difficulty in the idea that a team of senior lawyers might visit you, though it would certainly help us here to reassure those concerned, including Lord Gardiner. I hope however that if you do feel you must advise that this suggestion is really not tolerable, you may be able alternatively to look at the whole business again in the light of the comments made by the Legal Advisers with a view to introducing a substantial package covering both the administration of justice and judicial conditions of service, in order to allay the criticism which exists. I talked over this problem generally with Hobley the other day, and from what he had to say it seemed hopeful that such a package might be put together.

/I have

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL