4.
•
between overseas and local judges. His colleague, Fred Li, added that the number of overseas judges should depend on the requirements of different cases. Frederick Fung of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood agreed that the ratio between overseas and local judges should not be rigidly set, while maintaining that in principle the CFA should consist of local judges alone.
At a City Forum discussion on the subject (9.6), UDHK Vice-chairman Albert Ho, Liberal Party Preparatory Committee member Selina Chow and Legco's legal sector representative, Simon Ip, argued against restricting the number of overseas judges. Mr Ho and Mr Ip opposed a suggestion that the problem be resolved by introducing subsidiary legislation to allow for more flexibility on the number of overseas judges. Mr Ip said such a proposal was technically impossible as subsidiary legislation could not overrule the principal legislation itself, which would state the JLG agreement. Mr Ho said his party would seek to amend the legislation, should it be tabled in Legco, by replacing the JLG agreement with relevant provisions in the JD and the BL. Vice-chairman of the DAB Tam Yiu-chung, on the other hand, called for the early establishment of the court in accordance with the JLG agreement.
In an interview with the United Daily (15.6), Meeting Point Vice- chairman Lee Chik-yuet said according to the interpretation of the group's legal sub-committee, the restriction on overseas judges applied to the number of permanent judges on the CFA, while the BL and the JD allowed more overseas judges to be brought in for special cases.
HK Affairs Adviser Lau Siu-kai of The Chinese University believed that the CFA issue was brought up because the British side wished to have the court set up before 1997 so as to ensure the continuance of the British judical system. The HK Economic Times (15.6) noted that Dr Lau questioned whether the British move to implement the JLG agreement at this time was a show of sincerity to benefit the current talks. He pointed out that it would take time for the relevant legislation to go through Legco and that there was no guarantee that the British side would not change its mind later.
In an interview with CNA, another HK Affairs Adviser, CPPCC local delegate Xu Ximin, criticised Prof Chen's proposal, stressing that Legco had no right to pass any law that contravened the Sino-British agreement. He questioned the motive behind the move to bring up the issue before the fifth round of talks on electoral arrangements.
In an article in the Economic Times (15.6), Cheng Kai-nam of the DAB said the CFA issue had been brought up again because the British side hoped to persuade Legco to support the JLG agreement and complete the legislative process. He said the dispute over the CFA was a question of confidence. If people did not believe that China would abide by the JD and the BL, they would not feel easy even if many overseas judges were allowed to sit on the
court.
Legal Circles
The Bar Association and the Law Society remained opposed to the restriction on the number of overseas judges in the JLG agreement. Lawyers
Page 45Page 46
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.