Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs
Review of the Justices of the Peace System 1999

Purpose

The Administration Wing of the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office (Administration Wing) has conducted a review of the Justices of the Peace (JP) system. This paper sets out for the information of Panel Members the results of the review and the way forward to fine-tune the JP system.

Background

2. A comprehensive review of the JP system was completed in early 1997 with the purpose of localising and modernising the system. The new Justices of the Peace Ordinance (Cap. 510) was enacted on 22 May 1997 and its provisions came into operation on 30 May 1997. Our plan then was to review the JP system in one or two years' time after the new legislation had come into operation.

3. The Administration has now conducted a review of the JP system as planned, with special focus on the JP visits programme, and has formulated a number of proposals to improve the system. A consultation paper (at Annex A) was issued to all serving 689 Non-official JPs on 27 February 1999 and they were invited to give their views on the proposals set out in the consultation paper. The consultation exercise ended on 30 April 1999 and a total of 219 Non-official JPs gave their comments to the Administration Wing on the proposals set out in the consultation paper.

General Views

4. Out of the 689 Non-official JPs appointed, 219 (32%) have responded to the proposals set out in the consultation paper. As shown in the statistical analysis at Annex B, all the proposals are supported by an overwhelming majority of Non-official JPs who have responded to the consultation paper, except for the proposal to allow Non-official JPs the choice of either an Official JP or a Non-official JP as their visiting partner.

Implementation of Proposals

5. On the basis of the views expressed by the Non-official JPs on the proposals of the consultation paper, the Administration Wing plans to implement the proposals detailed in the consultation paper as set out below.

A. Legislation

6. As the Justices of the Peace Ordinance (Cap. 510) has been operating satisfactorily, no change will be made to the Ordinance for the time being. However, the Administration will keep in view the operation of the Ordinance and consider improvements as the need arises.

B. JP Visits

(1) Visits to Prisons

(i) Surprise Visits

7. At present, JP visits are unannounced so that the JPs concerned can observe the real condition in the prisons. To enhance the surprise element of the visits, the Administration Wing will advise all the Official JPs (who are usually responsible for arranging the visits) of the followings:

  1. not to give advance notice to the institutions to be visited as far as practicable; and

  2. that while we shall continue to provide government transport, JPs are free to use private or public transport to visit the institutions. If the use of government transport is required, the Administration Wing will endeavour to ensure that the institutions will not be informed of the time of the visits by the concerned Government departments arranging the transport, drivers or helicopter pilots in advance.
ii. Privacy in Interviewing Complainants

8. At present, visiting JPs may choose to speak to prisoners in private if they so wish. To ensure that suitable arrangements are made for visiting JPs to conduct interviews with prisoners in private, the Administration Wing will remind staff of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) that without compromising safety and security, they should facilitate the interviewing of prisoners by visiting JPs in private. The Administration Wing will also ask CSD to remind their staff to offer to visiting JPs a choice of writing their reports regarding their visits in private (paragraph 16 below refers).

iii. Sufficient Time for Visits

9. In order that the visiting JPs can have sufficient time to inspect the facilities at the prisons and interview the prisoners, the Administration Wing will continue to advise the Official JPs concerned of the average time required for a visit, taking into account the remoteness and the size of the institution in question. However, as the actual time required for each visit depends largely on the nature and/or the number of complaints received, and the actual travelling time for that particular visit, the Administration Wing will also remind JPs of the possible need to spend more time than the average time in special and unexpected circumstances.

(2) Visits in General

i. Choice of Institutions

10. The Administration Wing will be writing to all Non-official JPs to collect information regarding the particular institution(s) (or category of institutions) which individual Non-official JP may wish to visit on a more regular basis so that they can monitor progress and follow-up on complaints and issues raised during their previous visits.

ii. Additional Institutions to be Visited

11. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) is now studying the feasibility of extending the current JP visit programme to cover other types of welfare institutions (e.g. homes for the aged/mentally retarded and rehabilitation centres) on a non-statutory basis. The Administration Wing will also consider whether the JP visit programme can cover other appropriate institutions. Such additional institutions will be added to the JP visit programme as and when appropriate. The Administration Wing will try to make arrangements for visits according to the indications of the Non-official JPs concerned (paragraph 10 above refers).

iii. Pairing of JPs on Visits

12. To allow JPs more flexibility on the choice of visiting partners, the Administration Wing proposed in the consultation paper to allow Non-official JPs the choice of either Official JPs or Non-official JPs as their visiting partner. Of all the 219 Non-official JPs who have commented on the consultation paper, 103 JPs agree to this proposal; 88 JPs disagree with the proposal and 28 JPs have either no comments or other comments to the proposal. The majority of JPs who disagree with the proposal are of the view that the current practice to pair a Non-official JP with an Official JP on visits should be maintained, as the Official JPs can explain to the Non-official JPs questions relating to the procedures and policies of the government during the visits when required. In addition, the Official JPs can help the Non-official JPs in making the transport arrangement to institutions, including the booking of helicopters to institutions located in remote areas, and this has facilitated the Non-official JPs greatly in discharging their visiting duties. Such pairing of Official JPs with Non-official JPs on visits will also enable more balanced views to be given in writing the reports after the visits.

13. As there is considerable support both for and against the proposal, and since legislative amendments are required for the implementation of the proposed arrangement in respect of some institutions, the Administration Wing decided not to implement this proposal in the meantime. However, the Administration Wing will keep in view the situation and reconsider the proposal when necessary.

iv. Updated Information on Institutions

14. Starting from September 1999, the Administration Wing will request the institutions concerned to provide regular reports on outstanding complaint cases made by prisoners and inmates so that visiting JPs can be informed of developments before their visits. The information given will help the visiting JPs follow-up on complaints or other issues.

v. Write-ups

15. The Administration Wing considers that it is desirable for visiting JPs to be given more time to consider and discuss the issues arising from the visits. Nevertheless, in the case of some institutions, there exist the statutory requirements for visiting JPs to complete the reports before leaving the institutions. The Administration Wing therefore proposes that while visiting JPs should continue to submit reports on their visits before they leave the institutions, they should also be allowed to send in additional feedbacks within three days after their visits, following which institutions will take necessary follow-up actions.

16. Furthermore, to facilitate the visiting JPs to freely discuss and write their reports in the institutions, the Administration Wing will remind the institutions that their staff should offer visiting JPs a choice of writing their visit reports in private. Nevertheless, staff of the institutions concerned will be happy to clarify questions or misunderstandings that JPs may have regarding their visits.

vi. Follow-ups to JP Visits

17. To ensure that the comments made by JPs after the visits have been effectively followed up, the following proposals will be implemented:

  1. the Administration Wing will strengthen its role as the secretariat of the JP scheme in following up on comments/suggestions made by visiting JPs and in monitoring follow-up actions on complaints made to JPs. To ensure that the comments/suggestions/complaints are followed up, the Administration Wing will, starting from September 1999, request the departments concerned to provide regular reports on outstanding actions on comments/suggestions/complaints arising from JP visits; and

  2. the Administration Wing has requested CSD, Hospital Authority, Department of Health, SWD, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Immigration Department and Home Affairs Bureau to produce annual reports on the JP visits to those institutions falling within their purview for the purpose of compiling a composite report by the Administration Wing. The reports will include statistics regarding the number of visits, number of complaints, follow-up actions concerning those complaints, and suggestions/comments made by JPs, plus write-ups summarising the figures and highlighting important facts or events. The first of such reports will cover JP visits made in 1999.
C. Briefings for JPs

18. The Administration Wing will continue to organise briefings for newly-appointed JPs every year. Seminars for Non-official JPs will be organized on a need basis.

D. Additional Duties for JPs

19. To make the best use of the talents of JPs, the Administration will be consulting relevant bureaux to explore areas where JPs may be invited to take a more active role. As a start, JPs will be invited to assist the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in their programme to spot smoky vehicles. EPD will arrange special training programmes for those Non-official JPs who wish to become "smoky vehicle spotters".

E. JP Web-site

20. The Administration Wing will set up a JP Web-site on the Internet to provide better communication between the Administration and the JPs, and to provide a source of information for JPs to help them better discharge their duties. JP Newsletters, relevant legislation, JP list and information on the institutions to be visited by JPs will be put on the web-site for JPs' information. The web-site established will also enable the public to better understand the JP system. The Administration Wing expects the site to be in place in late 1999/early 2000.

Administration Wing
Chief Secretary for Administration's Office
July 1999

Annex B

General Report on the Response to
the Consultation Paper on the Review of
the Justices of the Peace System


AgreeDisagreeNo CommentsOther Comments
(A) Legislation
There is no need to amend the Justices of the Peace Ordinance (Cap 510) for the time being. 197
(90.0%) 		12
(5.5%) 		6
(2.7%) 		4
(1.8%)

(B) JP Visits
(1) Visits to prisons

  1. To ensure that JP visits are unannounced:

    1. no advance notice should be given to the institution concerned; and
180
(82.2%) 		32
(14.6%) 		5
(2.3%) 		2
(0.9%)

  1. JPs should be free to use private or public transport, and the Administration Wing should endeavour to ensure that the time of the visit would not be disclosed to the institution concerned if government transport is to be used.
166
(75.8%) 		37
(16.9%) 		10
(4.6%) 		6
(2.7%)

  1. Staff of the Correctional Services Department should be reminded to facilitate the interviewing of prisoners by JPs in private.
189
(86.3%) 		22
(10.0%) 		4
(1.8%) 		4
(1.8%)

  1. Sufficient time should be allowed for visits to more remote or larger institutions.
210
(95.9%) 		4
(1.8%) 		4
(1.8%) 		1
(0.5%)
(2) Visits in general

  1. Arrangements should be made for Non-official JPs to visit a particular institution on a more regular basis if they so wished.
177
(80.8%) 		29
(13.2%) 		7
(3.2%) 		6
(2.7%)

  1. The list of institutions to be visited should be extended to cover other types of welfare institutions on a non-statutory basis.
171
(78.1%) 		31
(14.2%) 		10
(4.6%) 		7
(3.2%)

  1. Non-official JPs should be allowed the choice of either an Official JP or a Non-official JP as visiting partners.
103
(47.0%) 		88
(40.2%) 		17
(7.8%) 		11
(5.0%)

  1. The latest information on complaints should be provided to visiting JPs so that they could follow-up on them.
204
(93.2%) 		8
(3.7%) 		7
(3.2%) 		0
(0.0%)

  1. Visiting JPs should be allowed 3 days after the visit to send in their report.
151
(68.9%) 		53
(24.2%) 		11
(5.0%) 		4
(1.8%)

  1. To ensure that complaints to JPs and JPs' comments are effectively followed up:

  1. the Administration Wing should strengthen its role as the Secretariat of the JP Scheme; and
198
(90.4%) 		10
(4.6%) 		10
(4.6%) 		1
(0.5%)

  1. annual reports on JP visits should be compiled.
182
(83.1%) 		25
(11.4%) 		10
(4.6%) 		2
(0.9%)
(C) Briefings for JPs

A briefing for newly-appointed JPs and a seminar for all Non-official JPs should be organised annually.

197
(90.0%) 		6
(2.7%) 		8
(3.7%) 		8
(3.7%)
(D) Additional Duties for JPs

The Administration should explore areas in which JPs may be invited to take a more active role.

192
(87.7%) 		10
(4.6%) 		10
(4.6%) 		7
(3.2%)
(E) JP Web-site

A JP Web-site should be developed.

161
(73.5%) 		32
(14.6%) 		19
(8.7%) 		7
(3.2%)

- End of report -



Review of the
Justices of the Peace System

- Consultation Paper





Administration Wing
Chief Secretary for Administration's Office
February 1999

I. INTRODUCTION

A comprehensive review of the Justices of the Peace system (JP system) was completed in early 1997 with the purpose of localising and modernising the system. The new Justices of the Peace Ordinance (Cap 510) was enacted on 22 May 1997 and its provisions came into operation on 30 May 1997. Our plan then was to review the JP system in one or two years' time after the new legislation has come into operation.

2. We have now conducted a review of the JP system as planned, particularly the JP visits programme, and have formulated a number of proposals to improve the system. This consultation paper sets out our proposals and seeks Non-official JPs' views on them.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Role of JPs

3. The award of the title of Justice of the Peace (JP) has come to be regarded in Hong Kong as a form of recognition of an individual's standing in the community. In fact, JPs are included as a category in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Precedence Table. However, appointment as a JP is not simply an honour awarded for past public or community service. It is a duty for which it is an honour to be called upon to perform. It is inappropriate to see the JP system simply as a complaints system for prisoners and detained persons, although JPs do perform an important function in visiting prisons, other custodial institutions and hospitals. The JP system should be viewed against its long history and special significance in Hong Kong.

B. The JP System

4. Before the reunification, JPs were appointed by the then Governor under the Letters Patent. There were two types of JPs :

  1. Official JPs (who were government officers); and

  2. Non-official JPs (who were eminent members of the community).
Under the category of Non-official JPs, there was also a sub-category of New Territories Non-official JPs, who were persons who had a close connection with the New Territories.

5. Historically, the office of JP was a judicial one. Before the enactment of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance, JPs had a wide range of judicial and quasi-judicial powers under various ordinances. However, not many JPs appointed had formal legal training. Therefore, they were not really equipped with the knowledge and expertise to exercise judicial and quasi-judicial powers which involved the liberty of members of the public. Moreover, with the development of a professional judiciary, those powers were no longer required and in practice were rarely if ever exercised.

6. The JP system, in its old form, could not have continued after 1997. Legislation was needed to provide a local statutory basis for the appointment of JPs and to bring up to date their powers and functions. As mentioned earlier, a comprehensive review of the JP system was conducted to localise and modernise the system. The review was completed in early 1997 and a Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council and subsequently enacted.

C. The Justices of the Peace Ordinance

7. The new Justices of the Peace Ordinance provides a local statutory basis for the continued operation of the JP system (both before and after the reunification) and it formalises the powers and functions of JPs.

8. The Ordinance empowers the Chief Executive to appoint any person whom he considers to be fit and proper to be a JP and to revoke the appointment of any JP under certain specified conditions. For example, if a JP has been convicted of an offence in respect of which he or she has been sentenced to imprisonment, or is suffering from mental disorder, or has left Hong Kong and remained outside Hong Kong for a continuous period of six months or more without the approval of the Chief Executive, his or her appointment may be revoked.

9. A new JP Oath has also been introduced to replace the former requirement for JPs to take the then Judicial Oath and the then Oath of Allegiance. The new Oath is based on the Legislative Council Oath.

10. The administrative practice of having two categories of JPs (i.e. Official and Non-official JPs) is maintained, although this has not been specified in the Ordinance. The sub-category of New Territories JPs is also retained. However, judges and magistrates ceased to be ex-officio JPs. This was because all the historical judicial and quasi-judicial powers of JPs are now performed by judges and magistrates in their capacity as judges and magistrates, and there is no need for them to retain the ex-officio title of JP.

11. The Ordinance removed the obsolete judicial and quasi-judicial functions of JPs. It also removed or transferred the power of JPs to administer various kinds of statutory declarations specified under the list of Ordinances set out in Schedule 3 to the Ordinance. The requirement for these declarations (which are usually of a technical nature) to be made before a JP was either obsolete, inappropriate or unnecessary. There are already other suitable means of making such declarations. Any member of the public who is required to take an oath, or make a statutory or non-statutory declaration may do this either in the government department concerned or at a District Office of the Home Affairs Department.

12. The power of JPs to administer oaths and declarations under the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap 11) has been retained. This empowers JPs to administer oaths and declarations for any person who is required to take an oath or make a declaration for personal reasons.

13. The new Ordinance reflects the current functions of JPs. These include paying visits to custodial and other institutions and performing other functions as may be imposed by the Chief Executive. For example, JPs may be called upon to carry out ad hoc enquiries.

D. Policy on Appointment of JPs

14. The practice in recent years has been to have one exercise to appoint new JPs each year. The exercise, which normally commences in November, covers nominations of both JPs to be appointed under section 3(1)(a) of the Ordinance (i.e. Official JPs) and those to be appointed under section 3(1)(b) (i.e. Non-official JPs). JP appointments are usually announced on 1 July (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day).

15. Candidates for appointment as JPs should be persons of integrity and social standing. They should also be able and willing to carry out the duties of a JP on a regular basis.

16. The following criteria apply to all candidates for appointment as JPs :

  1. it is not the normal practice to appoint a person who is likely to leave Hong Kong shortly;

  2. inability to speak either Chinese or English is no bar to appointment, but attention should be drawn to this in the nomination; and

  3. candidates below the age of 35 or above the age of 60 will only be considered for appointment in special circumstances.
17. The following additional considerations apply to the appointment of Official JPs :
  1. it is not the normal practice to appoint an Official who will leave Government Service shortly;

  2. seniority, length of service and individual standing (generally, only Officials who are of the rank of D3 or above, or Officials of the rank of D2 and with 15 years of service or more may be considered for appointment);

  3. the Director, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, and District Officers in the Home Affairs Department are normally appointed as "ex-officio" JPs to assist them in the proper exercise of their duties; such appointments are effective for so long as they hold the prescribed offices in the Home Affairs Department; and

  4. members of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Judiciary, the Department of Justice and the Police Force and members of other law enforcement agencies or investigation units in the disciplined services are not normally appointed as JPs.
E. Functions of a JP

18. The functions of a JP, as provided for in section 5 of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance, are :

  1. to visit custodial institutions and detained persons;

  2. to take and receive declarations and to perform any other functions under the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap 11);

  3. in the case of a Non-official JP, to serve as a member of any advisory panel; and

  4. to perform such other functions as may be imposed on him from time to time by the Chief Executive.
19. The primary role of a JP is to visit institutions, including prisons, detention centres and hospitals. The objective of this visits programme is to ensure that the rights of the inmates are safeguarded through a system of visits by independent visitors, without prior warning of the exact time of the visits to the institutions concerned.

20. The visiting system is basically administered on a rotation basis. Prior to each visit, the Administration Wing of the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office (Administration Wing) issues letters appointing two JPs (one official and one non-official) as visitors to a particular institution for a period of two weeks, one month or three months as the case may be. Briefing notes on the institution to be visited and extracts of the relevant rules and regulations are forwarded with the letter of appointment to the JPs for their reference.

III. THE REVIEW

21. As part of our review, we have :

  1. reviewed the existing legislation;

  2. gathered comments from JPs and from concerned bureaux and departments; and

  3. organised a number of brainstorming sessions with JPs.
22. On the basis of the views gathered, we have formulated a number of proposals which are set out in the following paragraphs.

IV. PROPOSALS

A. Legislation

23. We have reviewed the operation of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance since its implementation in May 1997. The Ordinance appears to be working satisfactorily. We therefore recommend no change to the Ordinance for the time being.

B. JP Visits

(1) Visits to Prisons

i. Surprise Visits

24. Under the Prisons Rules (Rule 222), visiting JPs can visit a prison or hostel operated by the Correctional Services Department (CSD) at all reasonable times during their tour of duty. This means that they can conduct surprise visits to the assigned prison or hostel during their tour of duty (usually 2 weeks).

25. Some JPs have pointed out that on some occasions, their visits to prisons were expected and the element of surprise was lost. They have suggested that all visits to prisons should be unannounced so that they could observe the real conditions there.

26. In order to ensure that the staff at the prison concerned are not aware of the time of the visit, we propose that all Official JPs (who are usually responsible for arranging the visits) should be advised :

  1. not to give advance notice to the prisons to be visited as far as practicable; and

  2. that while we shall continue to provide government transport, JPs are free to use private or public transport to visit the institutions. If the use of government transport is required, the Administration Wing would endeavour to ensure that the institutions would not be informed of the time of the visits by the concerned Government departments, drivers or helicopter pilots in advance.
ii. Privacy in Interviewing Complainants

27. Some JPs have pointed out that it may not always be possible for them to interview prisoners in private. This is because some staff of CSD have insisted on remaining in the same room on security grounds when a complaint is made.

28. It is already an existing practice that visiting JPs may choose to interview prisoners in private. Facilities are already available in all prisons. If there are requests from visiting JPs to conduct the interviews in private, arrangements will be made for JPs to interview the prisoners at a suitable venue within the view of but out of the hearing of the prison staff. We recommend that staff of CSD be reminded that without compromising safety and security, they should facilitate the interviewing of prisoners by visiting JPs in private.

iii. Sufficient Time for Visits

29. Some JPs have pointed out that sometimes they did not have sufficient time to see all the facilities at a prison and to interview prisoners because of transport arrangements made beforehand. They have suggested that more time should be allowed for visiting more remote or larger institutions.

30. We propose that Official JPs should be reminded to make arrangements to allow more time for them and Non-official JPs to visit more remote or larger institutions. We also propose that CSD should advise the Official JPs on the average time required for a visit taking into account the remoteness and the size of the institution. However, as the actual time required for each visit depends largely on the nature and/or the number of complaints received, JPs should be reminded of the possible need to spend more time than the average time in special and unexpected circumstances.

(2) Visits in general

i. Choice of Institutions

31. At present, an institution included in the JP visits programme is visited by two different JPs on rotation each time. This arrangement has the advantage of having JPs from different walks of life to look into the management of the institution from different perspectives.

32. Some JPs have suggested that they should be allowed to visit a particular institution on a more regular basis so that they could monitor progress and follow-up on complaints and issues raised during their previous visits. We see merit in this proposal and recommend that JPs who wish to visit a particular institution on a more regular basis be allowed to do so.

ii. Additional Institutions to be Visited

33. Our current JP visits programme consists of both "statutory" and "non-statutory" visits. Statutory visits are those required by legislation and non-statutory visits are those not required by legislation. Some JPs have pointed out that it would be desirable to extend the programme to cover other types of welfare institutions (e.g. homes for the aged) on a non-statutory basis.

34. We see no great difficulty extending the list of institutions to be visited on the basis suggested. However, the choice of such "new" institutions and the frequency of such visits will need to be carefully worked out, taking into account the possible reactions of operators of such institutions, and the total number of JPs available to conduct visits. JPs will be requested to let us know their preference for JP visits and we shall carefully consider their suggestions.

iii. Pairing of JPs on Visits

35. Our current practice is to pair a Non-official JP with an Official JP on visits. In the case of visits to prisons, this arrangement is provided for under Rule 222 of the Prisons Rules. Some JPs are of the view that such pairing gives the impression that the Official JP is there to keep an eye on the Non-official JP. (This, of course, is not the case.)

36. While the pairing of JPs is to facilitate the arrangement of visits, we see no objection to giving JPs more flexibility on the choice of visiting partners. We propose to allow Non-official JPs the choice of either an Official JP or a Non-official JP as visiting partners; the exact person to be paired for each visit will, however, be for the Secretariat to arrange. Amendments to the relevant legislation may be required if such changes are made.

iv. Updated Information on Institutions

37. Some JPs have suggested that visiting JPs to an institution should be provided with updated information on the institution, including the complaints made by prisoners and inmates in the recent past. Such information would help visiting JPs to follow-up on complaints or issues.

38. We recommend that the institutions concerned should provide the Administration Wing with the latest information on complaints so that visiting JPs could be informed of developments before their visit.

v. Write-ups

39. At present, the two visiting JPs are usually requested to write-up their report before leaving the institution. Some JPs have suggested that they should be given a few days to write their report since they may need some time to consider and discuss the issues.

40. We propose that instead of requiring the two visiting JPs to complete their report before the end of their visit, they should be given a choice of sending in their report within three days after the visit. It would however be desirable for JPs to seek clarifications from the institutions concerned before their departure should they have any queries or questions. To cater for this flexibility, a specially-designed form should be prepared for that purpose. Amendments to the relevant legislation may be necessary.

vi. Follow-ups to JP visits

41. Some JPs have pointed out that while they provided comments to the institutions concerned after their visits, the relevant Departments, in most cases, did not provide them with any feedback on whether their comments were taken on board and if so how. They have suggested that :

  1. the Administration Wing should help JPs in following up on suggestions made by visiting JPs and in monitoring follow-up actions on complaints to JPs; and

  2. annual reports on the comments made by JPs during their visits to their institutions, and how relevant departments have dealt with complaints to JPs, should be produced.
42. Having considered the resource implications of these two suggestions, we recommend that :
  1. the Administration Wing should strengthen its role as the secretariat of the JP scheme in following up on suggestions made by visiting JPs and in monitoring follow-up actions on complaints to JPs; and

  2. starting from 1999, CSD, the Hospital Authority, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Social Welfare Department should be requested to produce annual reports for institutions falling within their purview for the purpose of compiling a composite report by the Administration Wing. The reports will include statistics regarding the number of visits, number of complaints, and follow-up actions concerning those complaints, plus write-ups summarising the figures and highlighting important facts or events. The first of such reports will cover JP visits made in 1999.
C. Briefings for JPs

43. Some JPs have proposed that we should organise more seminars and briefings for JPs. We propose to organise a briefing for newly-appointed JPs and a seminar for Non-official JPs every year.

D. Additional Duties for JPs

44. Some JPs have suggested that given that judicial and quasi-judicial functions were taken away from JPs after the last review, it would be desirable to give JPs new duties so that they could play a more active and useful role. It has been suggested by some JPs that they could be asked to give their views on government policies, or to assist the Environmental Protection Department in their programme to spot smoky vehicles.

45. We feel that it would certainly be desirable for us to make the best use of the talents of JPs. We shall be consulting relevant bureaux to explore areas where JPs may be invited to take a more active role.

E. JP Web-site

46. Some JPs have suggested that a JP web-site should be set up on the Internet to provide better communication between the Administration and the JPs and to provide a source of information for JPs to help them better discharge their duties.

47. We consider the setting up of such a web-site technically feasible. Moreover, such a web-site will also provide the side benefit of enabling the public to better understand the JP system. Nevertheless, public access to the web-site will need to be confined to those parts containing general information. Tentatively, we think that JP Newsletters, relevant legislation, information on the institutions to be visited are information appropriate for putting on the web-site. We therefore recommend that resources be made available to the Administration Wing to develop such a web-site.

V. ADVICE SOUGHT

48. Non-official JPs are invited to give their comments on the above proposals by filling in the attached form. Replies should be sent to Mrs Apollonia LIU, Assistant Director of Administration (1), Administration Wing, Chief Secretary for Administration's Office, 12/F, Central Government Offices (West Wing), 11 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong (Fax Number: 2524 7103) by 30 April 1999.

VI. THE WAY FORWARD

49. After consideration of the comments by JPs, we will prepare a final report on the JP review. The report will be issued to all Non-official JPs.

Administration Wing
Chief Secretary for Administration's Office
February 1999