TNAG-2694-FCO40-3900-Hong-Kong-Judiciary-and-judicial-appointments-1993 — Page 88

布政司署

香 港下亞畢道

本署檔號 OUR REF:

來函檔號 YOUR REF :

CONFIDENTIAL

(42) in CSO/ADM/CR 3/3222/88(9

HKA 373/1

15

BY DIPLOMATIC BAG

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

Ms Emma Williams

Hong Kong Department

United Kingdom

DESK

20 MA: 1993

Foreign & Commonwealth office

MALBRB

6 May 1993

Dear Ms Williams,

Judicial Officers (Tenure of Office) Bill

Proposed Amendments to the

Letters Patent and Colonial Requlations

I

refer

to

our previous exchange of correspondence resting with the letter from my predecessor, Miss M L Wong, dated 4 September 1992 on the above Bill (then referred to as the Judicial Officers (Security of Tenure) Bill).

(54) HKA 373/1 (1992)

The Bill is

to provide procedures for the discipline and removal of judicial officers other than judges, So that those judicial officers will no longer be subject to Clause XVI of the Letters Patent and Appendix II to Part 1 of the Colonial Regulations which apply to public officers generally. Approval has now been obtained from the Executive Council to introduce the Bill into the Legislative Council. Attached at Enclosure A for your information is a Legislative Council Brief on the Bill. The legislative timetable is set out in paragraph 14 of the Brief.

You have already agreed in the context of the previous correspondence that amendments should be introduced to the general disciplinary provisions in the Letters Patent and Colonial Regulations if the Bill is to be enacted to provide separate provisions for the discipline and removal of judicial officers. Clause 1 of the Bill stipulates that the Ordinance shall come into operation on a day to be appointed by the Governor by notice in

Gazette, thus enabling the commencement of

the

CONFIDENTIAL