TNAG-1589-FCO40-21741-Future-of-the-judiciary-in-Hong-Kong.-Part-1-of-2-1987 — Page 197

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The District Court and the Magistracy

18.

There is another proposal by the Magistrates' Association about the District Court which is to enlarge its jurisdiction from below by bringing in the upper work of the Magistracy and leaving the

such of small offences Magistracy with the very large volume parking, littering and hawking. This would call for a greatly enlarged District Court as in New Zealand taking criminal, civil, family and

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juvenile business. It would have the advantage of flexibility. single and large body of judges could be flexibly and

flexibly and therefore economically deployed to meet the administratively (not geographically) centralised demands of a large but fluctuating and changing workload. With the exception of a relatively few serious cases in the High Court all criminal cases would be subject to cnly one set of unified office and court procedures. The prospects of the existing Magistrates and

their morale would be improved. And it is said that more and better

locals would be interested in appointment to such a court.

19.

The main advantage is flexibility and against that must be weighed the disadvantages. The proposal has little support outside the Magistracy. The existing District Court bench and the remaining

Magistrates might all feel devalued. No doubt they would overcome this but the risk of demoralising one group of judges albeit while improving the morale of another is not one to be taken lightly. The question is a very difficult one calling for wider consultation and more detailed analysis than I have been able to carry out. I shall be suggesting

that questions of structure should be looked at again. There is something to be said for considering then whether a development on these lines would be right for the Hong Kong Judiciary of the future. For the present it is more important to find sufficient work of adequate quality to make the best use of the District Court and relieve the High Court. There might be advantage in giving the Magistrates a

discretion to commit to the District Court for sentence.

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