THE LEGAL SYSTEM
exceed $127,330, he is eligible for assistance under the scheme. However, the Administrator of the Duty Lawyer Service has a discretion to grant legal representation to defendants whose gross annual income exceeds this limit, if she considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so. An applicant is also subject to a merit test. The prime consideration is whether the defendant is in jeopardy of losing his liberty or whether a substantial question of law is involved.
The scheme also assigns barristers and solicitors to advise defendants facing extradition, to monitor the one-way viewer identification parades conducted by the Police, and to represent hawkers upon their appeals to the Chief Executive in Council.
In 1997, there were approximately 920 barristers and solicitors on the duty lawyer roster. A total of 35 041 defendants were represented under the Duty Lawyer Scheme. The Tel Law Scheme offers free taped legal information to the public. The tapes cover various aspects of law including matrimonial, landlord and tenant, criminal, financial, employment, environmental and administrative law. They are constantly updated and new tapes are added when new subjects are identified as being of interest to the public. During the year, 69 topics were available and 115 967 calls were received.
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