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Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, in resuming the second reading debate of the Civil Justice (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2007 in the Legislative Council today (January 30):
Madam President,
The Civil Justice (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2007 seeks to improve the civil procedures in the High Court, District Court and the Lands Tribunal. The Bill contains amendments to six Ordinances which were proposed by a Steering Committee appointed by the Chief Justice to oversee the implementation of the Civil Justice Reform. The objectives are to streamline and improve procedures, encourage and facilitate settlement, and enable judicial resources to be better utilised.
Since the introduction of the Bill into this Council on 25 April 2007, the Bills Committee has held nine meetings to examine the various provisions. I am most grateful to the Chairman of the Bills Committee, the Honourable Margaret Ng, and members of the Bills Committee, for your hard work and helpful contributions.
At the Committee stage, I will move amendments to a number of provisions in the Bill. The Bills Committee has examined these proposed amendments in draft and is agreeable to them. The majority of the proposed amendments are of a technical and consequential nature. Some are proposed in response to the Bills Committee's valuable suggestions and comments. I would like to outline briefly two sets of the proposed amendments that are of a more substantive nature.
Part 12 - Proposed leave requirement for Lands Tribunal appeals
At present, any party may appeal against a determination or order of the Lands Tribunal on the ground that such determination or order is erroneous in point of law. Such appeals are heard by the Court of Appeal. There is no need for parties to apply for leave. In a decision made in mid-2007, the Court of Appeal suggested that a leave requirement should be introduced for appeals from the Lands Tribunal, so that only appeals involving questions of law would be dealt with at the substantive hearing. The Steering Committee appointed by the Chief Justice has suggested that the opportunity be taken to implement this suggestion through amendments to the present Bill. With the Bills Committee supporting the Court of Appeal's suggestion, I will propose, at the Committee Stage, adding new clauses to Part 12 for the purpose.
New Part 10A - Rules as to costs and interest
The main objectives of the Civil Justice Reform are to facilitate early settlement, eliminate redundant steps, and minimise unnecessary applications. In line with these objectives, the Steering Committee has suggested that suitable amendments to the relevant subsidiary legislation be made in order to give certain powers to Taxing Masters in relation to costs and interest in taxation proceedings. Before such amendments can be made, appropriate provisions should be added in the relevant primary legislation. For this, I will move amendments to add a new Part 10A to the Bill to empower the High Court Rules Committee and the District Court Rules Committee to pursue such amendments to subsidiary legislation.
Subcommittee to study draft subsidiary legislation
As we have set out in the Legislative Council Brief on the Bill, to complement the provisions in the Bill, the Steering Committee will propose amendments to various sets of court rules. I am glad to note that, in view of the relatively large number and the complexity of the proposed amendments, the House Committee of this Council has already set up a Subcommittee so that consideration of the draft amendments may commence early. The Administration and the Judiciary both look forward to cooperating closely with the Subcommittee as we have done with the Bills Committee.
Conclusion
Madam President, the passage of the Bill today will be an important step in the road to introducing crucial reforms to our civil justice system.
With these remarks, and subject to the proposed Committee Stage Amendments, I commend the Bill to Honourable Members.
Thank you, Madam President.
Ends/Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:15
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