TNAG-1259-FCO40-1599-The-Future-of-Hong-Kong---special-study-by-FCO--August-1982--1983 — Page 147

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Tobago, which are republics.

Confidence

is more likely to be maintained if arrangements

are made to keep the Judicial Committee as a

final court of appeal but it is not an essential

constitutional requirement.

Unacceptable Changes

13. While it would be possible to 'localise' the judiciary

to some extent and thus to give it a more Chinese

character, it would not be acceptable to accord jurisdiction

to the courts of the PRC or to allow the establishment

of a system of justice modelled on those courts.

Conclusion

14. It is desirable either to maintain the existing

machinery of justice more or less as it is or to create

local machinery of a more or less autonomous character

that effectively preserves its essential features.

PART III: THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Present Position

15. Hong Kong, as is normal in a British colony, has an

Attorney-General, who is a legally-qualified public

officer appointed by the Governor with the approval of HMG.

As a member of the Hong Kong public service, he is employed

and remunerated by the Hong Kong Government. Up to date,

the post of Attorney-General has always been held by an

expatriate who is a barrister; the present Attorney-General

was the first to be appointed directly from the English Bar.

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/16.