It
Various
profession and judiciary, there will be a vacuum.
doubtful, in the words of the Chief Justice of Hong Kong,
whether "suitable ethnic Chinese candidates can be found to
fill these [judicial] positions by 1997".82
expedients have been suggested. Doubtless the vacuum will be
filled somehow. But whether it will be filled by the judges
of courage, integrity and skill required remains to be
The challenge will be enormous.
RAYS OF HOPE: THE NEED FOR JUDGES OF WISDOM & COURAGE
Is it possible to end on a note of hope? According to
research conducted in 1988, a clear majority of Hong Kong's
Chinese population accepted common
Seventy-two percent favoured the
law
values,83
continuance of individual
and legal rights. Almost 60% favoured government by the rule
of law. Seventy-seven percent supported the adversary system
with a rôle for the private legal profession. Seventy-three
percent favoured the jury system. Surprising perhaps was the
fact that only 53% favoured the presumption of innocence.
Only 32%
in the fact of
of judicial independence.
believed
statistic.
There may be considerations relevant to local conditions in
the lower judiciary which explain this last
84
These are important soundings of values amongst the people of
Hong Kong. If they are accurate and representative they provide the best foundation for the post-1997 preservation in
Hong Kong of basic rights of the kind found in the
in the Basic
Law and in the international covenants.
The end of Privy Council appeals will sever the link of
the Hong Kong legal system to the centrepoint of one of the
world's great legal traditions. But other countries of the
common law have survived this severance. There is always a
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