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Governmdnt Official 'Recommends' Legal Aid Cases Use Government-Appointed Lawyers Only

The Hong Kong SAR government and the pro-Beijing camp had made numerous accusations that the legal aid system is being abused. #JohnLee Ka-Chiu, the Chief Secretary for Administration, had evaluated the system and presented a series of recommendations to the Legislative Council on Oct 22, 2021.

The report recommended that lawyers for criminal cases be appointed by the Legal Aid Department (#LAD), rather than allowing aid recipients to nominate their own lawyer. Only "special cases" will be exempted, for example when the self-nominated lawyer has represented the defendant before.

They also suggested a limit of legal aid for cases related to judicial reviews, allowing a maximum of 3 cases for barristers and 5 for solicitors.

The government also proposed to "enhance case management". If the LAD believes there is a conflict of interest of the original-appointed lawyer, they will suspend the legal aid or appoint another lawyer. And if the client seeks voluntary legal advice without LAD consent, the LAD will also withdraw the aid.

#LegalAidDepartment #LegalAssistance #RightToCounsel #JudicialReview

Source: Stand News #Oct26
https://bit.ly/3jucdMX

See also:

Protesters' Fund In Support of Hong Kong Pro-democracy Movement Will Cease Operation
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30820
#Mainlandization #Regime
Hong Kong Government Appoints Designated Lawyers to At Least 8 National Security Defendants


In Hong Kong, at least eight defendants of National Security Law cases, who had successfully acquired legal aid, failed to nominate the same lawyer who was originally in charge of the case to continue representing them in ongoing court cases. 

Instead, they were re-assigned to lawyers designated by the government's Legal Aid Department.

Responding to media inquiry, the Department revealed that, as of 22 November 2021, 29 cases involving National Security Law have been granted Legal Aid assistance. Among these cases, the Government appointed 20 lawyers and 19 barristers, including 2 senior legal counsels.

The Department cited the so-called "Legal Aid Improvement Measures" as a reason, but refused to reveal the date when the new measures would be fully implemented.

Nevertheless, the Department confirmed that the option to nominate lawyer has been removed from the Legal Aid application form. The government claimed that this is "in support of the preparatory works necessary for the Legal Aid Reform".

Source: Stand News; #Nov29
https://thestandnews.page.link/p6XfWgtHsVLDp6vW7

#Court #AppointedLawyer #Defence #LegalAidDepartment #FailedState #PoliticalOppression