Note for file
CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Justice Barker
The Chief Justice and the Chief Justice Designate called on the Governor on 4 March. The Governor said that he had to give the Secretary of State an answer to the various allegations made by Lord Benson. It was also necessary to consider the implications of these allegations for the Judiciary in Hong Kong. He thought that it would be useful to go through the various allegations and obtain the CJ and the CJ Designate's views on each.
2.
The Governor said that the first allegation was one of Mr Justice Barker's unfitness during the Carrian trial. The CJ said that he did not consider Lord Benson to be an unbiased witness. However Mr Justice Barker had admitted drinking too much during the course of the trial. The CJ Designate said that Dr Chin believed that Mr Justice Barker had suffered from alcoholism during the trial. But no medical assessment of his health had been made at the time. It was difficult to prove anything in retrospect. Dr Chin would however say that there was now every indication that Mr Justice Barker was fit to perform his duties, although he could give no commitment as to whether and how long this would continue to be the case.
3.
The Governor said that the next allegation was of incompetence, relating both to inadequate control of the case and to the ruling and judgment made by the judge. The CJ said that allegations of lack of control and levity during the case were understandable from a prosecution witness. The defence would no doubt have a different view. The allegation of incompetence with respect to the judgment had been corrected by the Court of Appeal. The CJ Designate said that he did not think the judge's behaviour in Court was sufficient grounds to remove him from office. Similarly the Court of Appeal ruling had dealt with the legal errors and no further action needed to be taken on these.
4.
The Governor said that the next allegation concerned misconduct, in particular attendance at a party hosted by solicitors for the defence and talking indiscreetly about the case. The CJ said that Mr Justice Barker had admitted the substance of these allegations. There was however no real evidence of what he had said. It was difficult to predict what view a tribunal might take of this behaviour as we had never had one in Hong Kong. He thought that the view might be that Mr Justice Barker had behaved badly and should not again be exposed to the pressure of a long trial. The CJ Designate said that most of the evidence was anecdotal. However he had recently been informed of an
/allegation
CONFIDENTIAL
(iv)
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