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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

finance and expenditure through its Standing Finance Committee, on which all the unofficial members sit. Procedure in the Legis- lative Council is based on that of the House of Commons. The membership of the Executive and Legislative Councils are given in Appendices XLI and XLII.

JUDICIARY

Under powers conferred on the Governor by the Letters Patent, the Chief Justice, Senior Puisne Judge and Puisne Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by Letters Patent on instructions from the Sovereign given through, and on the recommendation of, the Secretary of State. District Judges and magistrates are appointed by the Governor by warrant or other instrument under the Public Seal. The qualifications of judges and district judges are prescribed by the Supreme Court and District Court Ordinances.

The function of the judiciary is to try all public and private prosecutions and to determine civil disputes either between indi- viduals or between individuals and the government. The principle of English Constitutional Law, that in the performance of all judicial acts the judiciary is completely independent of the executive and legislative organs of the government, is followed in Hong Kong. It takes no part in the formulation of policy or in the enact- ment of the laws. Its function is to follow and apply the law, but in the interpretation of statutes and in applying decided cases, new case law is made.

The principles of English Common Law and Equity and the Statutes of England as they existed in that country on 5th April 1843, except where they are inapplicable to local circumstances, are the foundation of Hong Kong's legal system. They have been extended and modified by the application to the Colony of certain later enactments of the United Kingdom Parliament and by the ordinances and other enactments of the Hong Kong legislature. The Statute Laws of the Colony are consolidated and revised periodically. The current edition was published in 1951. A new edition is in course of preparation.

The Courts of Justice in Hong Kong are the Full Court, the Supreme Court, the District Court, the Magistracy and the Tenancy Tribunal. The rapid changes in the social and economic structure