ENG-1974 — Page 293

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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Supreme Court and the District Court and has jurisdiction corresponding roughly to that of the Court of Appeal in England. Appeals may be brought from the Full Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.

Legal Aid

Satisfactory progress was made generally in improving the efficiency of the civil and criminal legal aid schemes during 1974.

Aid is granted in civil cases provided that there is a prima facie case based on tenable evidence. Applications for aid in relation to civil cases were processed with greater speed and precision than was possible when the department was limited in professional man-power. The result is that cases are being finalised faster-usually by settlements, satisfactory to clients, out of court-without the delays and expenses in- cidental to court trials. Delays in litigation are not confined to Hong Kong or to legal aid cases, but continuous efforts are being made to shorten and eliminate delays wher- ever possible.

The department's litigation unit is now conducting the solicitor's work incidental to almost all new and current civil cases. The legal aid officers in the unit brief Mem- bers of the Bar in all cases in which barristers would normally be briefed.

There was a substantial increase in the number of applications for aid in relation to civil cases compared with 1973. In particular, the number of cases in which aid was sought and granted in relation to bankruptcy and winding-up proceedings almost tripled. The Legal Aid (Amendment) Regulations 1974 were enacted to avoid financial hardship to legally-aided petitioners of receiving and winding-up orders.

The Legal Aid (Assessment of Contributions) (Amendment) Regulations were enacted by the Governor in Council on August 20, 1974. These had the dual effect of bringing additional qualified applicants within the means test by increasing their per- sonal allowances, and decreasing the quantum of contributions payable by appplicants not eligible for free legal aid. As in 1973, the financial benefits provided under the amendments to these regulations apply equally to applicants for aid, in both civil and criminal cases.

It is the government's intention that legal aid should be extended to embrace a larger sector of the community (notably in the middle income group). To achieve this an examination was carried out in 1974 to consider the financial and other implications of raising the limits of eligibility under the means test.

At present, legal aid in criminal cases in the District Court is limited to persons accused of an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years or more. In August 1974, the Governor in Council agreed that legal aid should be extended to all persons accused of any criminal offence tried in the District Court (subject to the means test) with effect from April 1, 1975, provided that fiscal considerations permitted. Since Legal Aid in Criminal Cases Rules came into effect in January 1970 no applicant has been refused aid on the means test, and only a handful of applicants have had to pay nominal contributions.