The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: 　　The Hospital Authority (HA) today (May 15) submitted to the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) the applications of five non-locally trained doctors for limited registration to serve… read more
In response to media enquiries on actions to combat the use of private cars or light goods vehicles (LGVs) for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward, a spokesman for the Transport Department (TD) today (May 15) gave the following reply:
The Government has been paying close attention to the use of private cars or LGVs for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward (commonly known as “pak pai” service) and will tackle such offences by taking stringent enforcement actions. The TD has been in close liaison with the Police and will refer suspected cases to the Police for follow-up actions.
Subsections (3), (5) and (10)(a) of section 52 and Schedule 4 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap 374) stipulate that an offender who uses a private car or LGV for the illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward, or who solicits or attempts to solicit any person to travel in such vehicles, is liable to a fine of $5,000 and three months’ imprisonment on the first conviction. The licence of the subject vehicle may also be suspended for three months. On the second or subsequent conviction, the person is liable to a fine of $10,000 and six months’ imprisonment. For a subsequent offence in respect of the same motor vehicle, the licence of that vehicle may be suspended for six months.
As regards a recent case in which a driver provided carriage service through the “Uber” mobile application and was fined $3,000 by the court for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward, the TD has received the notification from the Police about the conviction and already delivered a notice of intention to suspend the licence of the motor vehicle to the registered owner pursuant to section 90 of the Road Traffic Ordinance.
The TD will proceed to arrange suspension of the vehicle licence in accordance with the relevant legislative requirements and direct the registered owner to deliver the motor vehicle into the custody of the department until the expiry of the suspension period.
The TD will continue to support the Police for their enforcement actions in combating illegal carriage of passengers. From 2015 to the first quarter of 2018, a total of 41 vehicles have been impounded by the TD with the vehicle licences suspended due to convictions for the offence of illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward. read more
Hong Kong Customs seized a batch of suspected dangerous drugs weighing about 18 kilograms in total, as well as a batch of drug inhalation apparatus and packaging materials, with an estimated market value of about $1.9 mill… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Standing Committee on Legal Education and Training:
The Standing Committee on Legal Education and Training (SCLET) today (May 15) released the Final Report of the Consultants on the Comprehensive Review of Legal Education and Training in Hong Kong.
The Chairman of the Standing Committee, Mr Justice Robert Tang Ching, said, “The Final Report comprises 38 recommendations in total, covering various aspects of Hong Kong’s system and provision of legal education and training.
“In particular, it reviews the existing structure of legal education and training, the academic stage of legal education, the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws, the proposal for a ‘Common Entrance Examination’ and regulatory framework relating to the training contract, pupillage and the overseas qualifying examinations.”
He said the Standing Committee will carefully study the Final Report in the coming months, before it tenders its comments and recommendations on the way forward to the Government for consideration in due course.
The Standing Committee is a statutory committee established in 2005 by section 74A of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap 159). Its main functions include keeping under review the system and provision of legal education and training in Hong Kong and to make recommendations on such matters.
This report is the first substantial review of legal education and training in Hong Kong since the Redmond Roper Report on Legal Education and Training in Hong Kong: Preliminary Review published in 2001.
The Standing Committee in 2013 resolved that it was time to undertake a further review in the context, chiefly, of
* Continuing expansion of legal education and training in Hong Kong, including the recognition of a third law school and the provision of graduate law degrees,
* Perceived concerns over access to the profession, and consistency in standards of education and training, and
* Changes to the delivery of legal services and new demands on the profession, including the impacts of technology, globalisation, and increasing integration of Hong Kong and Mainland legal markets.
The consultants initially appointed in 2015 were:
* Mr Woo Kwok-hing, QC, formerly Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court and a former chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission;
* Professor Tony Smith, Professor of Law at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple; a former Chairman of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge, and a former Chair of the Committee of Heads of University Law Schools (UK); and
* Professor Julian Webb, Professor of Law and Director of the Legal Professions Research Network at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Academic Bencher of the Inner Temple; formerly Professor and Director of the UK Centre for Legal Education at the University of Warwick.
Following Mr Woo’s resignation from the Review in October 2016, Mr Anthony Rogers, QC, Chairman of the Clearing and Settlement Systems Appeals Tribunal, Hong Kong, and former Vice-President of the Court of Appeal, took over chairmanship of the group.
A consultants’ interim report was issued in October 2017. The SCLET received the Law Society of Hong Kong’s response to the interim report on May 8, 2018, which has been uploaded to the website of the SCLET.
The Final Report, the Overview and Consultation Responses (November 2015 to February 2018) (as well as the Chinese text of the Overview and Recommendations) can be accessed on the website of the SCLET at www.sclet.gov.hk/eng/index.htm. The Chinese text of the full Report will be made available as soon as possible. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., Ltd. on fraud… read more