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The Government published in the Gazette today (April 25) the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014, which seeks to improve various court operations.
The Administration and the Judiciary have consulted the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services (the Panel) on the Bill. The Panel agreed that the Bill, with the refinements proposed by some members of the Panel incorporated, would be ready for introduction into the LegCo.
The Bill will be introduced into the LegCo for scrutiny on May 7. The legislative proposals are as follows:
* To repeal section 22(1)(a) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance so that the relevant appeals in civil matters will no longer lie to the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) as of right, and all civil appeals, whether or not the matter in dispute amounts to or is worth more than $1 million, will become subject to discretionary leave of the Court of Appeal or the CFA.
* To amend the definition of "live television link" in section 79A of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance in the context of evidence-taking for criminal proceedings so that other suitable audio-visual facilities such as video conferencing facilities may be adopted.
* To amend section 80 of the District Court Ordinance to dispense with the existing requirement for a District Judge to orally deliver the reasons for a verdict, thereby giving the District Judge flexibility to hand down the reasons in writing direct in appropriate cases.
* To amend section 5AA of the Magistrates Ordinance to allow a person's period(s) of experience as a Special Magistrate to be combined with period(s) of other types of legal practice or service to fulfil the requisite minimum five-year period eligibility requirement to be appointed as Permanent Magistrate.
* To amend the Labour Tribunal Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation to improve the operations of the Labour Tribunal in a few areas, including clarifying the Labour Tribunal's jurisdiction, enhancing its case management powers and aligning the time limit for enforcing its awards or orders with other civil claims.
* To amend a few court-related ordinances, mainly to ensure that all levels of courts are provided with specific rule-making powers concerning suitors' funds.
The Judiciary earlier carried out a review and concluded that it is necessary to improve court operations in the above six areas, which in turn will benefit court users and the community at large.
The Judiciary has also consulted various stakeholders including the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Labour Advisory Board. The two legal professional bodies are generally supportive of the proposed legislative amendments. The other stakeholders have also indicated their support for the Bill.
Ends/Friday, April 25, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:01
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