TNAG-2219-FCO40-3187-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-Letters-Patent-and-R-1991 — Page 70

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

15-MAY-1991

16:43

DIRECTOR OF ADM.

852 877 0802

P.59

57

stipulated professional qualification as a juuye or district

quaye respectively. The Mayıstrates Ordinance contains no provision for the professional qualification of a mayistrate, but section 5 regulates the manner of his and must be appointment, which has to be "by warrant" notified in the Gazette.

Section 5 of the magistrates ordinance is expressed are section (1) of the Supreme Court

(as, wutatis mutanois,

Ordinance and section 4(2)

to confer on the Governor

of the District Court Ordinance)

power to appoint a magistrate.

In one sense It may be salu that he cannot effectively pe

power which has already been

given, y Ordinance, a conferred upon him by article XIV, Dut, in my opinion, on final ana. $15 (and adopting the terminology of Loru Pearce

in his

dictum in

Governor

في

the purman Cal case citeo above)

the

leyislature of Hong Kong nas lawfully conferred upon the

statutory power which 15 concurrent witn and

nim under confirmatory ci the prerogative power conferred on Article AIV, but subject to the regulating provisions contained ΣΩ section 5 of the Magistrates Ordinance which

we compiled

valid appointment 15

Cust

with if

D

to

be made.

In the absence of any express reservation of the unrestricted prerogative power it is thus the Ordinance

which rules.

Therefore, it

it see.ns to me that when the Governor

of the purported to celeyate his powers under section magistrates Ordinance to the Chief Justice, ne delegated his effective statutory power to appoint a magistrate, because the appointment could only be made in compliance with section 5 which was lawfully enacted and did therefore confer on the Governor a power to appoint which is concurrent with the Article XIV power. The latter power is for the time peiny lawfully displaced by the section 5 power, although I do not doubt that if the Governor were to purport to exercise it, and to do so in a manner that in

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