TNAG-0700-FCO40-852-Appointment-of-District-and-High-Court-Judges-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 17

HKA 373/393/3

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CODE 18-77

JUDGES FOR HONG KONG

1.

24641

You asked for my views on the proposal put forward by Sir D Roberts in his letter of 13 November, namely that High Court Judges from this country might be seconded to Hong Kong.

2. My view is that there may come a time when we have to resort to such a proposal but I do not think it has come yet. We have at present three well qualified members of the Colonial Judiciary namely:-

A WE Wheeler OBE Born: 1. 9.30

DR Davis OBE

Born: 20.12.28

Sir G Souyave

Born: 29. 5.26

Chief Justice

Kaduna State, Nigeria

Chief Justice

Solomons

Resident Judge of the High Court, New Hebrides

who wish to be considered for appointment to the Supreme Court in Hong Kong. Mr Rushford wrote to Sir G Briggs about them on 20 March 1978 and received an acknowledgement dated 29 March. I wonder whether Sir D Roberts is aware of this. I should have thought that their experience in Dependent Territories (see their c.v.s) would render them more useful than a Judge from the English High Court. Moreover, they can hardly be said to be too old for the job.

3.

You will see that Mr Hall in his minute of 22 November doubts that any English High Court Judge would be interested in a two year stint in Hong Kong. This may well be so. We were not deluged with applications from prospective A.G.'s. However, if we get desperate we might have to tap this market.

4.

Finally, like Mr Freeland, I am surprised that Sir D Roberts did not mention this idea to anybody in FCO, either to Legal Advisers or HKGD, before floating it to Mr Bourne.

23 November 1978

9 an

E. Gregon.

ET Gregory (Mrs)

Hong Kong and General Department

puggled by all the (mostly unconvincing) cold water that has been powed on 5: D. Roberts idea, which struck me as a simple and effective way of providing a leavening for the Hong Kong Bench in the longer term when

the