TNAG-2421-FCO40-3523-Hong-Kong-Her-Majesty-s-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-poli-1992 — Page 193

ALSO ENTERED ON

HMOCS CCR.

JUDICIAL

Miss Brooks

HKA 23311

Reference

67

key are wd of the of the

Legal Advisers

HMOCS ISSUES: JUDICIAL OFFICERS

1.

4 MAR

B

Policy

4413.

In the event that we will get Ministerial agreement to take forward our proposals for arrangements for HMOCS officers, I would like to ensure that we do not have a problem about judicial officers which we may not have focused

on.

2.

Can you see any reason why judicial officers should be No. They Incuciany

treated differently from HMOCS officers? Is there any stare all not the

reason, by virtue of their appointment, that they should be appoint executive treated differently? For example, I note that judicial

officers hold their office "during Our pleasure" (Letters Patent X1V). As far as I am aware HMOCS officers do not hold

23, they do. ce. imal

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their posts during the Queen's pleasure. Indeed HMOCS They do. See

officers do not figure in the Letters Patent or Royal

No

Them

Instructions. Does the ending of "Our pleasure" in 1997 have No any special significance therefore for judicial officers? Could they argue that since the Queen no longer holds sway over Hong Kong, they should not be required to continue but should have the right to retire? Could we overcome such an argument by having the Queen issue some statement or has such upport! a statement effectively already been covered by the fact of the JD?

3.

You should be aware that in 1989/90 we had some correspondence with your predecessor, Mr Fifoot, over the eligibility of judicial officers to join HMOCS. (I regret I cannot find the correspondence at present). As you will appreciate, judicial officers are not members of the civil service and were not included in the 1954 White Paper on the establishment of a unified service. However there is no HMO Judicial Service and it has long been our practice to appoint judicial officers as members of HMOCS. More recently, after the minuting with Mr Fifoot, we stopped appointing them as members of HMOCS but instead made them eligible for the duties, rights and obligations bestowed by HMOCS. that this is relevant but I draw it to your attention.

Uhlustare.

M V Stone

Hong Kong Department

WH 304

270 2651

14 February 1992

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Mir Stone

I would be

most interested

when you find it.

5 Brooks 3/3

to see the minuutup with Mr Fifoot

CODE 18-77

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