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(1) Deirdre A. Moran's letter dated 2nd September 1991
Ms.
Moran queried the guideline which requires solicitors qualified in Ireland to sit the Transfer Tests even though they are admitted in England and Wales without examination.
Note:
The Sub-Committee noted that the Hong Kong Scheme has different requirements than the English Scheme with respect to many jurisdictions. At present the scheme retains the automatic admission of solicitors from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It provides that lawyers with qualifications from those jurisdictions listed in Schedule I of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance can be admitted upon completion two parts of the proposed Transfer Test. Ireland is included in this Schedule. If a GATS agreement is successfully negotiated, the Hong Kong Scheme would revised so as not to give preferential treatment to any jurisdiction. It was decided that at the present time the Scheme should not be revised to give solicitors from Ireland automatic admission as solicitors in Hong Kong.
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(2) Romulo's letter dated 30th August 1991
The letter suggested that clearer guidelines should be drafted on the definition of common law jurisdictions because of the fact that many jurisdictions, including the Philippines, have a mixture of common and civil law.
Note:
The Sub-Committee recognised that applicants from jurisdictions with a mixture
of civil and common law would have to be assessed on a case by case basis. The Scheme allows for exemptions from some or all of the Transfer Tests. The power to waive requirements could be used in these situations.
(3) Lovell White Durrant's letter dated 10th October 1991
This letter raised the following concerns:-
(a) The requirement of written and spoken proficiency in the language of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong may create difficulties for lawyers from English speaking jurisdictions if they are required to have a working knowledge of Cantonese as well as English.
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