EC(97-98)36
For discussion
on 19 November 1997

ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE OF
FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 92 - DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Subhead 001 Salaries

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee -

1. the creation of the following supernumerary directorate posts in the Legal Policy Division and the Law Drafting Division of the Department of Justice for the period from 3 January 1998 to 31 March 2001 -

   1 Principal Government Counsel
   (DL3) ($127,900 - $135,550)

   2 Deputy Principal Government Counsel
   (DL2) ($110,000 - $116,800); and

2. an increase in the ceiling placed on the total notional annual mid-point salary value of all non-directorate posts in the establishment of the Department of Justice in 1997-98 from $369,675,000 by $3,758,940 to $373,433,940, to permit the creation of ten non-directorate posts which will also be required from 3 January 1998 up to 31 March 2001.

PROBLEM

The Department of Justice (D of J) does not have sufficient staffing resources to deal with requirements for the preparation of legislation and the provision of legal advice for the 1998 and 2000 Legislative Council elections and the elections for district organisations in 1999.

PROPOSAL

2.We propose to create the following supernumerary directorate posts in the D of J for the period from 3 January 1998 up to 31 March 2001 -

--1 Principal Government Counsel (PGC)

--2 Deputy Principal Government Counsel (DPGC)

in order to provide the necessary legal input to put in place arrangements for the 1998 and 2000 Legislative Council elections and for the first round of elections for district organisations.

3.We also propose to increase the notional annual mid-point salary ceiling of the D of J in 1997-98 from $369,675,000 by $3,758,940 to $373,433,940 to permit the creation of ten non-directorate posts to support the election-related work.

JUSTIFICATION

4.In order to put in place arrangements for elections to be held over the next three years, we will require substantial legal input in the following areas -

1. preparation of subsidiary legislation under the Legislative Council Ordinance and Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance to provide for voter registration, procedure and conduct of the Legislative Council elections including the formation of the Election Committee for the Legislative Council elections in 1998 and 2000 respectively;

2. review of existing legislation regulating elections (e.g. Corrupt and Illegal Practices Ordinance) and if necessary, amendment of the legislation;

3. preparation of primary legislation to provide for elections for district organisations to be held in 1999;

4. preparation of subsidiary legislation to provide for registration of electors and conduct of and procedures at elections to those district organisations;

5. preparation of primary legislation to amend the Legislative Council Ordinance to make provision for the Legislative Council election in 2000;

6. provision of legal advice and assistance to the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) in relation to drafting of electoral guidelines, registration of electors, nomination of candidates at elections, conduct of and procedures at elections, election complaints and appeals; and

7. provision of legal advice to the Constitutional Affairs Bureau (CAB) in relation to relevant policy issues and statutory requirements.

5.We need to carry out this highly complex and important area of work according to a very tight timetable. The D of J is unable to meet these new demands from within existing staffing resources without serious disruption and depletion of provision of service in other essential areas. Given the complexity, sensitive nature and importance of the task, the range and the level of professional experience required and the involvement of the highest levels of Government, the Secretary for Justice (SJ) considers it essential to set up a dedicated 'Election Team' (the Team) under the overall supervision of a PGC in the Legal Policy Division with a pool of professional officers and supporting staff across the Law Drafting and the Legal Policy Divisions as follows -

6.The PGC will supervise and co-ordinate the work of the Team. He will be primarily responsible for the provision of legal advice to the CAB and EAC, and for allocating and overseeing the distribution of work relating to electoral matters amongst the relevant counsel, supervising the work of those counsel, and overseeing the drafting of the most complex and controversial parts of the legislation. Given the importance and sensitivity of the work, the SJ proposes to pitch the post at DL3 level.

7.The proposed DPGCs in the Law Drafting Division will generally assist the PGC and be primarily responsible for drafting the more complex and difficult legislation (including ordinances and subsidiary legislation) in both official languages, providing legal advice, vetting the drafting work of non-directorate legislative counsel and co-ordinating the work of supporting staff.

8.The Legal Policy Division will be responsible for providing the necessary legal advisory input to facilitate the drafting of the legislation and its passage through the legislative process. The work will involve substantial presentation to and involvement with the legislature, its bills committees and panels, and will call for a high degree of sensitivity and understanding.

9.The Team needs to deal with post-election reviews, complaints and appeals, and follow-up amendments to legislation. Therefore, we require the proposed posts up to March 2001 to deal with all the work arising from the elections to be held in the next three years.

10.We have already created the three proposed supernumerary directorate posts under delegated authority for a period of six months on an initial basis from 3 July 1997 to 2 January 1998. We set out the main duties and responsibilities of the three posts at Enclosure 1.

11.To support these directorate officers, we also require a number of non-directorate posts. We set out details of the posts at Enclosure 2 and an organisation chart for the proposed Election Team at Enclosure 3. The establishment ceiling provided for the D of J in the 1997-98 Estimates does not cover these supporting posts. We therefore propose to increase the ceiling from $369,675,000 by $3,758,940 to $373,433,940. Upon completion of the tasks on 31 March 2001, we will make appropriate adjustment in the establishment ceiling.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

12.The total additional notional annual salary cost of this proposal at MID-POINT is $8,319,180. The full annual average staff cost, including salaries and staff on-cost, is $14,414,136.

13.We have not included provision in the 1997-98 Estimates to meet the cost of this proposal, which is estimated at $1,972,000 for the remainder of the financial year. Subject to Members' approval, we shall provide the supplementary provision required under delegated authority.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

14.We do not have dedicated teams in D of J to deal with election-related matters. In January 1994, the Finance Committee approved the creation of a team of 16 staff up to September 1996 to deal with requirements for legislation on arrangements for the 1995 elections [EC(93-94)53]. These posts have lapsed and we need to create a new team to deal with the arrangements for the coming elections in 1998 to 2000.

CIVIL SERVICE BUREAU COMMENTS

15.Having regard to the requirements for legal input arising from the coming elections, the Civil Service Bureau supports the creation of the proposed supernumerary directorate posts in the Legal Policy Division and the Law Drafting Division. The grading, ranking and number of the proposed posts are considered appropriate.

ADVICE OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON DIRECTORATE SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

16.As the posts are proposed on a supernumerary basis, we will report the creation, if approved, to the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service in accordance with the agreed procedures.

Department of Justice
November 1997

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Enclosure 1 to EC(97-98)36

Principal Government Council (Elections)

Main duties and responsibilitiesm

Responsible to the Solicitor General for -

1. providing legal advice to the Constitutional Affairs Bureau on electoral matters and attendance before Constitutional Affairs Policy Group as required;

2. providing legal advice to the Electoral Affairs Commission on all electoral matters including registration of electors, drafting regulations, drafting guidelines, conduct of elections, election appeals and conflicts;

3. examining the draft drafting instructions in respect of the primary and subsidiary legislation for the electoral reforms, and assisting in the preparation of such instructions and in the formulation of electoral policy;

4. assisting the Policy Bureau in steering the electoral legislation through the legislative process, including attendance before the Executive Council and the relevant Legislative Council committees;

5. advising on Committee Stage Amendments in respect of the electoral legislation;

6. allocating and overseeing the distribution of work within the Election Team and supervising staff; and

7. co-ordinating the staff of the Department of Justice when assisting as electoral officers.

Deputy Principal Government Counsel (Elections)#

Main duties and responsibilities

Responsible to the Principal Government Counsel (Elections) for -

1. drafting the more complex legislation for election in respect of the Legislative Council and district organisations in Chinese or English or both Chinese and English;

2. advising the Administration on drafting instructions to implement the legislative proposals;

3. supervising and vetting the drafting work of non-directorate legislative counsel;

4. providing legislative drafting service and advice to the Electoral Affairs Commission;

5. co-ordinating and supervising the work of supporting staff;

6. assisting in the preparation of various papers required in the legislative process including Executive Council Memoranda and Legislative Council brief;

7. attending before the Executive Council and the Legislative Council committees in connection with electoral legislation; and

8. carrying out such other duties as the Principal Government Counsel (Elections) may assign.

# The main duties and responsibilities for the two Deputy Principal Government Counsel are the same.

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Enclosure 2 to EC(97-98)36

Senior Government Counsel (Elections)

Main duties and responsibilities

Responsible to the Deputy Principal Government Counsel (Elections) for -

1. drafting electoral legislation of medium complexity in Chinese or English or both Chinese and English;

2. providing legislative drafting service to the Electoral Affairs Commission;

3. assisting in the preparation of various papers required in the legislative process including Executive Council Memoranda and Legislative Council brief;

4. attending before the Executive Council and the Legislative Council committees in connection with electoral legislation;

5. compiling and maintaining a bilingual glossary of election-related legal terms;

6. vetting legislative instruments prepared by law clerks; and

7. carrying out such other duties as may be assigned.

Government Counsel (Elections)

Main duties and responsibilities

Responsible to the Deputy Principal Government Counsel (Elections) for -

1. drafting less complex electoral legislation in Chinese or English or both Chinese and English;

2. assisting senior counsel in the drafting of the more complex electoral legislation in Chinese or English or both Chinese and English including conducting related research;

3. providing legislative drafting and advisory service to the Electoral Affairs Commission;

4. assisting in the preparation of various papers required in the legislative process including Executive Council Memoranda and Legislative Council brief;

5. attending before the Executive Council and the Legislative Council committees in connection with electoral legislation; and

6. carrying out such other duties as may be assigned.

Law Clerk

Responsible for -

1. preparing routine legislative instruments including commencement notices and signature and promulgation certificates;

2. checking the format and contents of bilingual draft electoral legislation, Gazette proofs and non-statutory instruments;

3. liaising with the Government Printer, Director of Administration and Clerk to the Legislative Council on the publication of electoral legislation; and

4. assisting in the compilation and maintenance of a bilingual glossary of election-related legal terms.

Personal Secretary I
Personal Secretary II

Responsible for providing secretarial support to counsel.

Assistant Clerical Officer

Responsible for -

1. checking and proof-reading bilingual draft electoral legislation, Gazette proofs, legislative instruments, glossary of election-related legal terms and other related documents; and

2. providing general clerical support.