TNAG-1607-FCO40-22122-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 216

SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,

MR. MICHAEL THOMAS, C.M.G., O.C. IN

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ON WEDNESDAY 7 JANUARY 1987

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (REPRESENTATION) RULES 1986

Sir,

I move the resolution to approve the Criminal Procedure

(Representation) Rules 1986. These rules have been made by the

Chief Justice under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure

Ordinance.

2.

The purpose of these rules is to require a solicitor who

has accepted instructions to act for defendants in criminal

proceedings in the High Court or in the Court of Appeal to give

formal notice of that fact to the Registrar. This record will be

available for inspection.

3.

At present there is no such requirement and on occasions

more than two defence teams have turned up at Court to appear for

the same defendant. Often this involves a waste of public money

if the Director of Legal Aid has undertaken the defence and later,

without his knowledge, a private solicitor has been separately

instructed.

L

The Bar, the Law Society, the Director of Legal Aid, the

Registrar of the Supreme Court and the Crown all consider that

these rules will help to avoid such duplication of effort, and

welcome them.