HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL
19 July 1989
香港立法局—————————一九八九年七月十九日
60
be appropriate after 1997, schedule 1 of the Bill lists the specific jurisdictions from which lawyers in government service had been recruited in the past. The Bar Association considered that the list should not be confined to places from which lawyers have been recruited by Government in the past. It should include other jurisdictions, for example, Singapore which has a system of legal education and training comparable to Hong Kong. The two professional bodies are investigating the legal system in Malaysia, with a view to its inclusion in future, if found appropriate.
The ad hoc group agreed with the Bar Association's view but maintain that the list should only be able to be amended by resolution of the Legislative Council. I shall be moving an amendment during the Committee stage to this effect.
To ensure that the applicants possessed the requisite experience demanded of a barrister, the UMELCO panel has recommended that for admission to the Bar, the applicant must have at least three years of active practice in the High Court of Hong Kong. The Chief Justice's committee considered that a rigid and narrow interpretation on "active practice in the High Court" was likely to create difficulties. The Chief Justice's committee suggested that the requirement be flexibly interpreted to include High Court related work. The Bar Association accepted the views of the Chief Justice's committee but suggested that these three years should be the last three years of service and that such service be that usually undertaken by a barrister of ten years seniority in Hong Kong. The ad hoc group was concerned that a rigid requirement over High Court experience might give rise to injustice arising from a break of service which could be beyond the officer's control. The ad hoc group suggested, and it was now agreed that the three years' High Court experience should either take place immediately or recently before the date of application for admission.
Besides, to make sure that solicitors admitted under the present scheme are familiar with all the facets of solicitors' work in Hong Kong, the Bill would be amended to empower the Chief Justice to require the passing of an examination on solicitors' accounts as one of the admission criteria.
Sir, the above points are but some of the more important points agreed after a process of consultation that I have already referred to in the beginning of my speech. Without going into details, I would just like to mention that the other equally significant provisions of the Bill, relating to the strengthening of the advisory committee on legal education, updating of the fine levels and the
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