TNAG-0728-FCO40-931-Appointment-of-Commissioner-Against-Corruption-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 42

CONFIDENTIAL

APPOINTMENT OF ROBERTS (OR ANY OTHER LEGALLY QUALIFIED AND

HERWISE SATISFACTORY PERSON NOT ON THE BENCH) AS C.J, AND THAT WHILE HE ACCEPTED THAT YANG WILL MAKE A GOOD COMMISSIONER, HE KNEW OF NO PRECEDENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR HONG KONG OF A SUPREME COURT JUDGE LEAVING THE BENCH TO UNDERTAKE WORK (OTHER HE SAID THAN LEGAL/ACADEMIC) AND THEN RETURNING TO THE BENCH. THAT A HIGH COURT JUDGE WAS IN EFFECT A PERSON APART, AND THAT

THE IF HE ONCE STEPPED DOWN FROM THE BENCH, HE DID NOT RETURN. FACT THAT THE CASE OF YANG WOULD THUS BE A 'FIRST TIME' WOULD GIVE THE CRITICS AN OPENING.

6. I AM NOT CONCERNED ABOUT CRITICISM OF ROBERTS' APPOINTMENT.

I AM MORE CONCERNED BY THE COINCIDENCE OF TWO APPOINTMENTS APPARENTLY LIKELY TO BE SOMEWHAT UNPALATABLE TO VOCAL SECTIONS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION (THOUGH NOT THE PUBLIC) CONTINUING TO PROVOKE MORE CRITICISM THAN EITHER MIGHT HAVE DONE SEPARATELY. I WOULD NOT BE DETERRED BY THIS, AS I THINK THE APPOINTMENTS SOUND AND POPULAR, BUT THIS IS ONLY (FOLLOWING WORD UNDERLINED)

PROVIDED THERE REALLY IS NO VALID LEGAL OBJECTION TO YANG'S

APPOINTMENT.

7. SO I WOULD REGRETFULLY FEEL OBLIGED TO DROP MY RECOMMENDATION OF YANG UNLESS YOUR LEGAL ADVICE IS THAT THERE IS NO OBJECTION TO HIS APPOINTMENT AND SUBSEQUENT RETURN TO THE BENCH (AND AN ASSURANCE OF ULTIMATE RETURN IS A CONDITION OF HIS APPOINTMENT). WITH REGARD TO THE LATTER THE POSSIBILITIES ARE:-

(A)

E COM

THAT HE SHOULD BE SECONDED TO THE COMMISSIONER AGAINST CORRUPTION FOR A SPECIFIC TERM AND BE GIVEN A LETTER ASSURING

HIM THAT HE WOULD RETURN TO THE BENCH AT THE END OF HIS

SECONDMENT.

(B)

THAT HE SHOULD BE GIVEN LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM THE BENCH, ON THE SPECIFIC UNDERSTANDING, IN WRITING, THAT HE WOULD SUBSEQUENTLY RETURN TO IT:

(C) THAT HE SHOULD WRITE A LETTER OF UNCONDITIONAL RESIGNATION

FROM THE BENCH BEFORE BEING APPOINTED TO THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION. BUT HE WOULD BE GIVEN A CONFIDENTIAL ASSURANCE THAT HE COULD RETURN TO THE BENCH AT THE TERMINATION OF HIS TOUR AS COMMISSIONER.

3

CONFIDENTIAL

18. UNDER

i