******************************************
The Legal Aid Department will implement phase two of the five-day week scheme starting from January 1.
The offices moving to five-day work pattern include Civil Litigation Section (2), Crime Section, Receipt and Despatch Unit as well as Shroff Offices.
A spokesman for the department said today (December 26) that services provided by the department would not be affected by the new work arrangements.
¡°For Civil Litigation Section (2), which handles family litigation and insolvency matters, appointments with staff can be pre-arranged to take place during the week. For the Crime Section, defendants are given ample notice to appear in court and they would have sufficient time to apply for legal aid on days other than Saturdays. Past experience is that there are very few Saturday applications for criminal legal aid for hearing on the following working day.¡±
"Under the new work arrangements, the opening hours of Civil Litigation Section (2), Crime Section and Receipt and Despatch Unit will be extended from 5.15pm to 5.45pm from Mondays to Thursdays and to 6pm on Fridays. As for the Shroff Offices, the opening hours will be extended from 4pm to 4.30pm from Mondays to Fridays,¡± the spokesman said.
¡°Drop-in boxes will also be placed in the offices of the Application and Processing Division at both the Headquarters and Kowloon Branch Office, which will continue to operate on Saturdays, to collect cheque payments on Saturdays. The Application and Processing Division will also assist in the receipt of documents on Saturdays.¡±
Detailed information on the opening hours of various offices of the department is available on the department's homepage www.lad.gov.hk or the Government¡¯s dedicated website www.gov.hk/info/5day. Enquiries can be made to the department's hotline at 2537-7677 or the 24-hour 1823 Citizen¡¯s Easy Link.
Ends/Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:40
NNNN