What is a Pacific gentleman?

The Hong Kong SAR Government today appointed 73 justices of the peace. The appointment was gazetted today, which is the fifth appointment of a justice of the peace since the reunification of Hong Kong.

Of the 73 people appointed as Justices of the Peace, 50, including Ou Yongxi, were appointed as unofficial Justices of the Peace under the Justices of the Peace Ordinance. Twenty-three people, including Bai Denian, were appointed as official Justices of the Peace under the Justices of the Peace Ordinance, and their term of office took effect from July 1 2002.

The main function of a magistrate is to inspect prisons, detention centers and other institutions to ensure that they are effectively managed and that no one is treated unfairly or deprived of their rights. Justices of the peace are also required to perform other duties as instructed by the Chief Executive, such as conducting special investigations.

Local officials

The justice of the peace system has been implemented in Hong Kong for more than 60 years, and it is an effective supervision and inspection system. It provides an independent channel to facilitate people in need to lodge complaints, and allows relevant parties to investigate and follow up complaints according to regulations. In addition, the relevant bureaux or departments can also make use of the views and suggestions put forward by JPs to improve the management of facilities and services.

1994, the Preparatory Committee of the Preparatory Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region discussed whether the system of honouring and appointing justices of the peace would continue in Hong Kong after the reunification. Participants considered that the justice of the peace system could ensure that some people who were enthusiastic about social services and made contributions continued to assist the government in implementing policies. Finally, the PWC suggests that, on the whole, the system of justices of the peace can help promote people's active participation in social services, appoint justices of the peace to inspect relevant organizations independently, and strengthen supervision and public trust in these organizations. Therefore, this system should be retained. 1997, the government of the hong kong special administrative region promulgated the justices of the peace ordinance (chapter 5 10 of the laws of hong kong), thus confirming the legal status of justices of the peace after the return of hong kong.

The justice of the peace system originated in Britain in the16th century.

Mr. Lee Dong Hae, Chairman of the Hong Kong Friendship Association, who specializes in the study of the justice of the peace system, said that the justice of the peace system originated from16th century ago, and was a judicial auxiliary system established by Britain to maintain social order. The English name is: JUSTICES OF THE PEACE (J.P.), which means "notary of peace" or "judge of public order", and later officially translated as "justice of peace".

In the era of Hong Kong's British rule before Hong Kong's return, Justices of the Peace were appointed by the Governor in accordance with Article 14 of the Letters Patent (of course, they must be pro-British people, such as Henry Fok, who made great contributions but was not appointed) to help the government maintain social order. In case of major cases, the government can appoint one or more justices of the peace as the Ombudsman to show justice.

The first Chinese justice of the peace in Hong Kong was a court juror.

1843, the first Hong Kong Governor Bertie Chahar specially selected 44 British people, organized and established the "Hong Kong-British Public Security Committee" and appointed the first batch of public security members. Later, it was renamed Justice of the Peace and its power was expanded.

Almost all the early appointed justices of the peace were British. It was not until 18831February that Mr. Huang Sheng, the first Chinese juror in the Hong Kong High Court, was appointed as the first Chinese justice of the peace. Huang Sheng studied in America in his early years and returned to Hong Kong in 1848 as the first editor-in-chief of Hong Kong Chinese and Foreign Newspaper. Later, he co-founded the China Printing General Administration with Wang Tao, and the following year helped Wang Tao run the first newspaper, Circular Daily, independently founded by Chinese in Hong Kong. Since then, many people in China have been appointed as justices of the peace, including Wu, the first China legislator, He Qi, the first China citizen who was knighted, and Weibao Mountain, the founder of Baoliang Bureau.

Mr. Lee Dong Hae said that it is worth mentioning that in 1948 and 1970, the British Hong Kong government enacted the Magistrates Ordinance, which for the first time authorized two justices of the peace to form a primary court (that is, the Justices of the Peace Court) to perform all the duties equivalent to magistrates on behalf of the government when jointly presiding over cases. This incident initiated the direct participation of the sheriff in the judicial trial.

Since reunification, eight groups of Justices of the Peace have been appointed.

After the return of Hong Kong, the original system of justices of the peace was retained according to the Basic Law. Before the reunification, justices of the peace were appointed by the Governor, and after the reunification, justices of the peace were appointed by the Chief Executive of the SAR. According to the existing Ordinance, the Chief Executive may appoint suitable persons to hold public office of justices of the peace on specified terms and conditions; The Chief Secretary for Administration may also appoint such persons as he thinks fit as justices of the peace in the New Territories on prescribed terms and conditions.

In the eight years since the return of Hong Kong, people have been appointed as justices of the peace almost every year. As of July 2005, the Chief Executive has appointed eight groups of Justices of the Peace, with 80 justices at a time and about 50 justices at a time. Together with those appointed before the reunification, the number is even more numerous. According to Mr. Lee Dong Hae's statistics, as of July 2002, there were 65,438+0,65,438+072 serving Justices of the Peace, including 827 unofficial Justices of the Peace and 345 official Justices of the Peace (those who hold public office in the government are called official Justices of the Peace). As of July 2005, the number of students exceeded 65,438+0,400.

Before reunification, all people appointed as justices of the peace must swear allegiance to the English courts. After the reunification, it was changed to "uphold the laws of Hong Kong, do your duty faithfully and serve the people of Hong Kong".

The post is terminated after leaving Hong Kong or leaving public office for 6 months.

Justices of the Peace in Hong Kong can be roughly divided into official, unofficial and New Territories Justices of the Peace. As mentioned above, the official magistrate refers to a person who holds a public office, and his term of office is in the government service. If he no longer holds a government post, his honorary title as a magistrate will be automatically cancelled. Unofficial officials refer to other members of the community appointed by the Chief Executive. Justices of the Peace in the New Territories belong to another unofficial category, and the Chief Secretary for Administration has the power to appoint them. At present, most justices of the peace in the New Territories were appointed before the reunification, but no new justices of the peace have been appointed since the reunification.

Although justice of the peace is only a virtual title and honor, it also has certain constraints. The Justices of the Peace Ordinance provides that the Chief Executive may revoke the appointment of a justice of the peace by giving notice to the relevant person under the following circumstances:

1. After his appointment, he was convicted in Hong Kong or any other place and sentenced to imprisonment for the crimes involved.

2. Suffering from mental disorder referred to in the Mental Health Ordinance.

3. Unless approved by the Chief Executive, you shall not leave Hong Kong for more than six months in a row during the appointment period.

4. After considering the public interest and all other circumstances of the case, the Chief Executive considers that JPs are no longer suitable for the post.

In addition, Justices of the Peace can resign from the Chief Executive in writing at any time, and Justices of the Peace who are over 70 years old cannot participate in inspection activities.

It has the functions of visiting prisons and hospitals and receiving complaints.

The appointment of justices of the peace is not only to commend those who have made contributions to public service, but also to give them a responsibility. What are the duties and powers of justices of the peace?

Magistrate is a respectable title. Early Justices of the Peace were valued by the British Hong Kong government. They had many rights and responsibilities, such as stopping illegal assemblies, ordering arrests, searching houses, issuing warrants, presiding over statements, receiving complaints and inspecting institutions and prisons. In the history of Hong Kong, justices of the peace once had judicial power.

Mr. Lee Dong Hae recalled that as early as the 1950s and 1960s, there were not so many judges in Hong Kong, so some civil cases were tried by justices of the peace. For example, some lawless citizens were caught by the police for littering in the street. According to the law, they need to be convicted in court. But at that time, because there were not so many judges, the Hong Kong government handed over such small civil cases to justices of the peace for trial. Specifically, two justices of the peace and an official lawyer form an independent small court to try some civil cases such as littering and spitting, and it is entirely up to the two justices of the peace to decide whether to be fined or imprisoned.

In addition to being a judge, the sheriff also has the right to sign arrest warrants. For example, Mr. Lee Dong Hae said that in order to prevent individual policemen from taking personal revenge and arresting people casually, the law stipulates that any policeman who arrests people on the grounds that the suspect is mentally ill must have the signature of at least one sheriff in the area before arresting people. In addition, the power of justices of the peace also includes the signatures of those who apply for the licenses of accountants, lawyers and auditors, and the signatures of those who stay in Hong Kong from outside Hong Kong, those who come from the Mainland to settle in Hong Kong, invest in Hong Kong and go public. Only the relevant departments will accept the signature of the justice of the peace. But these rights are gone now (some were before the reunification).

The power difference of justices of the peace before and after reunification

After the reunification, although some adjustments have been made, justices of the peace still have certain powers and functions.

According to the Justices of the Peace Ordinance, the main function of Justices of the Peace is to inspect prisons, detention centers and other places, including hospitals, reformatory schools and homes for the elderly. By patrolling and accepting complaints, we can ensure the effective management and reasonable service of these departments, and we can also ensure that no one will be treated unfairly or deprived of legal rights. The specific responsibilities and powers are:

1. Accept applications, oaths and declarations signed by supervisors.

2. Issue writs or orders. When a justice of the peace receives a complaint and the complainant asks them to issue a summons or writ, the justice of the peace should first check whether the contents of the complaint are reasonable and legal, especially when issuing an arrest warrant: the complaint must be made in writing; The accusation must be sworn, and the truth of the accusation must be testified after the oath; The complainant has signed the complaint in the usual way; A notation shall be made on the complaint to prove that the complainant has taken the oath before him according to the date and place indicated in the complaint.

3. Patrol designated institutions. The main duty of justices of the peace in Hong Kong is to inspect designated institutions. The inspection activities include statutory and administrative visits by two justices of the peace (one official and one unofficial) to prisons, detention centers, labor centers, hospitals and other institutions. The purpose of the inspection is to ensure that the rights of people living in the above places are protected through the independent inspection system and the inspection time of organizations that will be visited in advance.

In terms of appointment, the difference between before and after the reunification is that there are usually two appointments and sometimes three appointments in a year before the reunification, but there are only a dozen appointments each time, sometimes (usually officials), and once a year after the reunification, all in July, with 70 or 80 appointments at the most and 50 or 60 appointments at the least. Mr. Lee Dong Hae said that he was worried that there would be more and more justices of the peace. Personally, he thought it would be better to be stricter.