Features

Election of the Council

At the first Council meeting held on 27 May 2010, after the Annual General Meeting of the Law Society, Huen Wong was re-elected the President and Junius KY Ho and Dieter Yih were re-elected the Vice Presidents. The other Council members serving the new term of office are Lester G Huang, Peter CL Lo, Michael J Lintern-Smith, IP Shing Hing, Billy WY Ma, Sylvia WY Siu, Cecilia KW Wong, Kenneth SY Ng, Stephen WS Hung, Ambrose SK Lam, Joseph CW Li, Amirali B Nasir, Melissa K Pang, Thomas ST So, Angela WY Lee, Brian W Gilchrist and Gavin P Nesbitt.

Consultation Paper on Double Jeopardy

The major recommendation of the Consultation Paper on Double Jeopardy published in March 2010 by a subcommittee of the Law Reform Commission is that the rule against double jeopardy should be relaxed, where there is fresh and compelling evidence against an acquitted person in relation to a serious offence of which he or she was previously acquitted or where an acquittal is tainted. Keeping the rule with limited relaxation in exceptional circumstances preserves the principle that a person should not be tried twice for the same offence; and where an acquittal has been obtained in circumstances which are tainted and amount to a perversion of the criminal justice system, the public interest is best served by providing an opportunity to correct the abuse. The Law Society supports in principle the relaxation of the rule against double jeopardy in these exceptional circumstances. The submissions of the Law Society on this consultation paper are posted on www.hklawsoc.org.hk.

Enduring Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Bill 2010

The Law Society supports the amendments proposed in the Enduring Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Bill 2010 (the ‘Amendment Bill’) to remove the requirement in s 5(2) of the Enduring Powers of Attorney Ordinance (Cap 501) for an enduring power of attorney to be signed before a medical doctor. The Law Society proposes to issue a Practice Note providing guidelines on matters that solicitors must be aware of when dealing with enduring powers of attorney when the Amendment Bill is enacted. The Law Society will invite the Academy of Law to offer training for members on the enduring powers of attorney and the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap 136), with specific materials on ‘mental
capacity’. The Law Society’s comments on the Amendment Bill and its recommendation to introduce legislation relating to the ‘living will and advance directives’ that may go hand in hand with an enduring power of attorney are posted on www.hklawsoc.org.hk.

Report of the Secretary for Justice’s Working Group on Mediation

The Law Society supports the Government’s initiative to promote mediation and has made its submissions on the 48 recommendations published in the Consultative Report of the Secretary for Justice’s Working Group on Mediation. These recommendations cover publicity and public education on mediation, accreditation of mediators, the legal framework for regulating the mediation profession, unrepresented litigants, mediation education for the legal profession, professional standards and integrity, the early dispute resolution system, ongoing support for mediators, mandatory mediation, the court as a mediation service provider and legal aid. The initial and final submissions of the Law Society on the Consultative Report of the Secretary for Justice’s Working Group on Mediation are posted on www.hklawsoc.org.hk.