TNAG-1797-FCO40-2557-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation--including-Opera-1988 — Page 4

Nevertheless the initial workload is likely to be very heavy. The Immigration Department believes it should be possible to prepare approximately 150 cases per week. Members will have to consider every case in full Council but to assist Members in their deliberations there are two alternatives

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(a) for the Council to split into small groups of two Members, each group considering say cases each week, with their recommendations subsequently ratified by the whole Council; or

(b)

to

establish a sub-committee of the Council under the Administrative Appeals Rules (Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance, Chapter 1) to make recommendations to the full Council.

11

To apply this latter procedure to all cases

would cause a great deal of additional

of additional work and would delay the process because

(a) the Rules permit an appellant to be present when his case is heard. Each appellant will have to be brought to the place of the hearing and remain under supervision;

(b)

the Rules provide that the appellant may be represented by

by a counsel or solicitor and the question of some form of legal assistance will arise notwithstanding the fact that legal aid will not be available to appellants under present law;

(c) the Rules permit the Director of Immigration as the respondent to be present at the hearing and to be legally represented;

(d)

the rules require that the sub-committee consist of at least two Members;

(e) the Sub-Committees are not empowered to

determine

appeals,

only to recommendations to the full Council;

(£) the

make

the

resource implications for Secretariat would be considerable given additional need for interpreters and other support staff for each hearing. Additional office space and conference facilities would also be needed.