The Bar Free Legal Service Scheme

1. The Bar formally announces the launching of the Bar Free Legal Service Scheme today.

2. The Bar has always aimed at providing an efficient service at reasonable cost to litigants in Hong Kong.

3. In recent years, the Bar has found many litigants deserving legal assistance had been denied proper representation due to a lack of funds and a Legal Aid system which can not reach many litigants for a number of reasons. The increase in requests for assistance received by the Bar is quite alarming: fifty-five requests were received this year compared to thirty-five over the previous five years.

4. While the Bar has for a long time offered its services to members of the public who are in need through its Pro Bono service on an ad hoc basis, in order to streamline and render more efficient the assistance the Bar can offer litigants in this respect, the Bar has decided to formally regularize its Pro Bono service by setting up the Bar Free Legal Service Scheme ("the Service＂). Informative pamphlets and application forms will be made available to the public explaining in simple terms under what circumstances free legal service will be provided to the needy.

5. The Service will be essentially managed by a Co-Ordinator with proper legal training. This post will first be offered to a practising barrister who will be prepared to devote about fifteen hours per week to administer the Service at an honorarium to be determined by the Bar Council. Until this post is filled, the co-ordinating work will be undertaken by Council Members for the time being.

6. Under the stewardship of the Co-Ordinator and the Bar Council, a vetting committee with 23 members will screen incoming requests. Should a litigant receive approval for assistance, the matter will then be passed to a panel of volunteer barristers to offer suitable legal assistance. There are forty-three barristers currently registered on the Panel. The Bar Council anticipates that depending on public demand, more volunteers will be signed up on due course.

7. The Bar Council recognizes that to be successful, the Service will need assistance from the Law Society. To this end, approaches in various forms have been made to the Law Society appealing to solicitors to volunteer their service.

8. The Bar is confident that there will be sufficient solicitors who will be willing to participate in the Service. However, the Bar Council is also considering alternative appropriate measures, if necessary, to overcome any shortage of volunteer solicitors.

9. The Bar anticipates that the funding of the Service will have to come from donations both within and without the profession. Funds collected from donation will be used solely for administration purposes. Services offered by barristers will not be remunerated. The Bar calls on those who are willing to offer financial assistance to contact the Bar Secretariat (2978-9166) or the Service＇s website: bflss@hkba.org

10. With the setting up of the Service, the Bar hopes that Justice will be more easily available to all. A good example of what the Service can achieve is to be found in a summary of case annexed to this Press Release.

ANNEXURE

Kaur & Kaur v. Director of Immigration & Secretary for Security

(HCAL No.47/1999)

In March this year, a member of the Bar successfully helped a pair of sisters from India overturn a government decision to deny them resident status in a judicial review case. The sisters managed to come to court to air their grievances owing to the free legal representation offered by the Hong Kong Bar.

Harjit and Gurjeet Kaur, aged 17 and 19 respectively, came to Hong Kong on 7 July 1998 to re-unite with their mother, Madam Mohinder Kaur, who resides in the territory. The sisters were given two weeks to remain as visitors. Prior to the expiry of their visa, they sought approval from the Director of Immigration to take up residence in Hong Kong as dependents of their mother.

The Director refused their application. The sisters objected to the Chief Secretary and appealed to the Chief Executive, to no avail. Finally, they lodged an application in court for leave to judicially review the decision of the Director as well as the decision of the Secretary for Secretary which upheld the Director＇s rejection of their application. The court granted leave for judicial review. They were ready to go to court. However, the Legal Aid Department refused their application for legal aid, on the ground that their case had no merit. On 28 September 1999, the day fixed for the judicial review hearing, the mother and sisters came to court, on their own, acting in person.

The judge hearing the judicial review application, Mr. Justice William Stone, thereupon requested that the Bar provide representation for the applicants. The next day, a member of the Bar, came forward to represent the sisters, for free.

For procedural reasons, the hearing was adjourned. In the mean time, the sisters re-applied for legal aid. On this occasion, legal aid was granted.

The hearing re-commenced on 14 March this year. Counsel continued to represent the applicants, who had by then had the benefit of legal aid. On 14 April 2000, Mr. Justice Stone eventually gave judgment for the applicants and quashed the decision of the Secretary for Security as being procedurally unfair.

Dated 31st May 2000.