LegCo Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services
Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance exercise in Government,
Government-funded and Government-regulated organizations
Y2K Compliance Position of the Department of Justice
All Year 2000 rectification work of the department has been completed by the end of June 1999.
Formulation and Testing of Contingency Arrangements
2. The department has drawn up a Year 2000 Contingency Plan laying down the preparation and contingency arrangements for unforeseen Y2K-induced failures. The plan covers all systems in the department, including administrative computer systems, end-user developed computer systems and embedded systems. The progress of testing and rehearsal of the Contingency Plan is outlined as follow -
- Administrative and End-user Developed Computer Systems
Contingency arrangements for the six non-mission-critical administrative computer systems consist mainly of making reference to manual records, reverting to hardcopies of legal references, and use of manual delivery of correspondence to replace electronic ones. The department has confirmed that all manual procedures are in place. Testing and rehearsal will continue to be done to make sure all contingency situations can be handled efficiently.
- Other Systems
Other systems include fax and telephone systems and security alarm systems. Service providers and contractors of the telephone, fax systems and security alarm systems have confirmed the Year 2000 compliance of all these systems. The department has drawn up a contingency plan to cope with the situation of system failure. In addition, the department will be making arrangements at the Receipt and Despatch Unit, the General Administration Unit and the Divisional Administration for sufficient level of manpower to be available to handle any contingency situation that may arise.
Year 2000 Co-ordination Centre
3. The department has set up a Year 2000 Co-ordination Centre at 20/F, Queensway Government Offices. The co-ordination centre has established a communication network in the department to collect information on whether, if so how the operation of the department is affected during the transition to Year 2000, and to co-ordinate the implementation of contingency measures as required. In addition, a back-up communication network will be in place to cope with any contingency situation.
Overall Appraisal of Contingency Planning
4. The department is content with the formulation and testing of the contingency plans and is confident that all the proposed contingency measures can be effected without affecting the daily operation of the department.
Department of Justice
October 1999
