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Newsletter - May 2006
2006-05-01 Dear Colleague The Steering Committee of the Judiciary has published its consultation paper on Civil Justice Reform. This is an important document because it sets out in various annexes the actual amendments to the existing Ordinances and HCR which will drastically change the way we conduct litigation. The Judiciary is laying a lot of emphasis on “Part 36” proceedings (offers to settle and payment into court) as well as various proceedings on costs and wasted costs. So you need to know what the proposed changes are. LegCo's AJLS Panel will discuss the paper in its meeting on 26 June. Consultation period is up to 12 July 2006. You may read and download the document at www.civiljustice.gov.hk. To help practitioners, the Chief Judge High Court has most kindly agreed to give a series of talks and workshops at our Friday Tea Gatherings after the consultation period when things take on a more or less final shape. So do WATCH THIS SPACE. Part of the consultation is on the application of the new Rules to the District Court. On the one hand this is inevitable, since it will be absurd for the District Court to maintain the old HCR. On the other hand, the application of HCR to the District Court was introduced in the first place only as expediency. There was a serious view that District Court procedures should be simpler than High Court procedures. If you hold this view and have supporting evidence, this is the time to make your voice heard. The Qualifying Insurance Scheme (QIS) proposed by the Law Society was voted down on 27 April by a majority of 1,873 against 506 votes. The major reason is that the Scheme as proposed may put small firms at great risk of high cost. This means that the existing scheme will continue until and unless a change is proposed and implemented. So those who are unhappy with the existing scheme (including many small firms) will have to wait for another opportunity to change. The AJLS Panel has asked the Law Society to inform members of further action. The third Law School gave an up-date report to the AJLS Panel on 26 April. It is all set to start its degree programme this autumn, the undergraduate programme in the Chinese University's Shatin campus, and the graduate programme in its town centre in Bank of America Building in Admiralty. Asked to explain in what way the new Law School will make a difference, Mr. Anthony Neoh S.C., Chairman of the Planning Committee and Vice-Chairman of the ExCo of the Law School replied that it will be mainly in the teaching of practical skills as a lawyer. He explained that in recent years he has been more of a user of legal services and found that there is room for making them answer better the needs of clients. We hope he will share this insight with practitioners on a future occasion. LegCo members were concerned to hear that the recruitment of Law Draftsmen in DoJ is restricted by the general civil service requirement that the applicant must have a pass in Chinese in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. This requirement severely and unnecessarily limits the field and hampers DoJ from recruiting the best people in terms of first language drafting skill and experience. Hong Kong's legislation is used by the international business community and must reach for the highest standard in each official language. One such legislation is the Copyright Ordinance. A bill has been introduced to amend the Ordinance in order to put, with modifications, into permanent form the transitional measures which will soon expire. The Government team has agreed to explain the effect of the proposals to practitioners in the Friday tea gathering on 26 May (please see schedule attached). As LegCo approaches the summer recess (last sitting of the whole Council being 12 July), committees are hastening to complete their work. The CE Bill resumes into second reading on 10 May. Proposed amendments by members to remove the prohibition against party affiliation of the Chief Executive and to set up an upper limit of nominators have been ruled out of order by the LegCo President on the basis that they exceed the scope of the Bill. The controversial Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill which proposes to split up the role of the Chairman and create a new CEO will resume its second reading debate on 7 June. The fate of RTHK, and the future of public broadcasting service in the HKSAR has far reaching implications for freedom of speech and freedom of information. I joined LegCo's delegation on this subject on the U.K. part of its overseas visit from 18 – 21 April. We met with key people in the BBC, Channel 4, Ofcom, Department for Culture Media and Sport, the Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on public broadcasting, and several concerned NGOs. It was extremely instructive. Hong Kong will only lag behind if we do not do everything we can to strengthen public broadcasting by providing adequate funding and institutional framework with all the proper safeguards. Yours sincerely Margaret Ng |
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