TNAG-1589-FCO40-21741-Future-of-the-judiciary-in-Hong-Kong.-Part-1-of-2-1987 — Page 96

M C Blair Esq

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Lord Chancellor's Department

Trevelyan House

Great Peter Street

London SW1P 2BY

Dear Micharl,

THE HONG KONG JUDICIARY

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

27 April 1987

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Thank you for your letter of 20 March and sending me copies of

We too Peter Robinson's Report and his letter of 7 February. have been giving thought to the position of the judiciary after 1997, though the direction of our thoughts is rather different We are from the substantive parts of Peter Robinson's Report. not in the judicial administration business and on such matters we must rely very much on the experts such as Robinson and Denys Roberts and his people.

Our concern has been essentially with constitutional issues, structure and manning. With regard to the last of these, we are

concerned with progress in localisation.

I should say at the outset that I do not see the present situation in Hong Kong in quite the same way as Peter Robinson does. Colo- nial judiciaries have developed in a different way from that in England and Wales. The higher judiciary has tended to be recrui- ted from the magistracy and the Crown Law Office and I would not

However, say that that factor has inhibited its independence. Hong Kong has benefited both from the colonial system and from the English system and in latter years has drawn its judges both from those with local experience and from the English Bar. problem has been, and remains, the absence of candidates from the local Bar; the rewards of appointment to the bench are nothing like those of continuing in private practice.

The

Hong Kong is also concerned with this issue. In August and Septem- ber last year I consulted Derek Oulton about certain proposals for extending the retirement age and the relevant pension factor for Hong Kong judges. In the last week we have received further proposals aimed at attracting members of the local Bar, enhancing the indpendence of the judiciary, and otherwise taking into account. a number of Peter Robinson's proposals. I attach a copy of Hong Kong telegram No. 1542 and our reply telegram No. 1172.

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