TNAG-0700-FCO40-852-Appointment-of-District-and-High-Court-Judges-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 12

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Telephone: 01-233-5994

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

Osted PX

8/2

1 December 1978

I moult

Er.

RECEIVED THE

HKA 373/393/3

-

SAY NO. 51

6 DEC 1978

DESK OPROER

INDEX

FA

REGISTRY

ction Taken

ولد

P.P.3

JV Bourne Esq CB

Permanent Secretary

Lord Chancellor's Office

House of Lords

London SWIA OPW

Dean

Wilfred

JULGES FOR HONG KONG

1.

Thank you for your letter of 15 November and its Losures, which we were interested to see.

If the formidable difficulties inherent in Roberts' proposal at the United Kingdom ond could be overcome, we in his Office would certainly agree with him that it has its attractions from the Hong Kong point of view.

Accretion of English Hig. judges to the Supreme Jort would raise its quality generally and would provide a As is of making available a body of experience in particular Phelan of civil law which it lacks at present but which is

needed in view of the way in which the Colony has

w.voloped.

We believe that the presence of the English judges in Court would be welcomed by the population as a whole. Likewise we think it would not be resented by members of the pructising bar so long as judicial appointments were made From time to time from among them.

The existing Supreme Court judges ought not to resent choir presence either, provided their seniority and precedence

401 disturbed, and woulu certainly benefit from their 4.10. The subordurute judiciary might feel that their resence reduced their own prospects of elevation to the

Dome Court, Dul Do long as some vacancies were filled from

District Court, as present, this should not be a Borious problem...

The only Local âlimiculty I can see (and it may be -ginary) is that the English judges might be seen as

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