The Department of Justice today (August 10) reminded potential applicants for the post of Government Counsel (GC) that they are required to obtain a certain level of results in the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) and the Basic Law Test (BLT) in order to be qualified for the post.

     The GC recruitment exercise will be conducted in around late August/early September this year. Applicants will be required to obtain a Level 2 result in the Use of English (UE) paper and a Level 1 result in the Use of Chinese (UC) paper of the CRE, as well as a pass result in the BLT.

     In this connection, Level 5 or above in English Language in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination or Grade C or above in Use of English in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) or Grade C or above in English Language in the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) are accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE. Furthermore, Level 4 in Chinese Language in the HKDSE Examination or Grade D in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature in the HKALE are accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UC paper of the CRE. Other equivalent qualifications can also be found at www.csb.gov.hk/english/recruit/cre/949.html.

     Under exceptional circumstances a limited number of applicants who do not meet the requisite Chinese language requirement may be appointed subject to the operational needs of the department. 

     Applicants for the GC post should also take the BLT. A pass result in the BLT is an entry requirement for the GC post. Those attaining a score at or above 53 out of the full marks of 100 (i.e. getting at least eight out of 15 questions correct) will be deemed to have a pass result in the BLT. Only those applicants who have passed the BLT will be considered for appointment. The BLT result will also constitute an appropriate weighting in an applicant's overall assessment. 

     The next CRE and BLT will be held in Hong Kong on October 2 and 9 or another date in October if necessary. Prospective GC applicants without the requisite results in the CRE or equivalent and/or those who have not attained a pass result in the BLT are invited to apply from August 7 to 20 for sitting the relevant examination and/or test.

     Further information on the CRE and the BLT is available on the homepage of the Civil Service Bureau (under the "Recruitment" section) at www.csb.gov.hk.

Ends/Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Issued at HKT 15:00

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