2017 has proven to be a vigorous and eventful year in our continuing effort to promote legal aid services as a cornerstone of the rule of law in Hong Kong. I am pleased to highlight some of the major events here.

Mr Thomas Edward KWONG Director of Legal Aid

Engagement with the Public

We are delighted that throughout the year, we had many opportunities to reach out to different sectors of the community and share with them our vision and mission. It was most encouraging to receive their positive feedback on the importance of the role we play in the community as well as their views on how we could enhance our service. During the year, we met with various professional bodies, NGOs, stakeholders, ethnic minorities as well as students through delivery of talks and seminars, meetings and visits, experience sharing and other activities. We also attended television interviews and various Legislative Council meetings to give a comprehensive elaboration on the principles and scope of legal aid services. We treasure these opportunities for exchanges of views which not only helped to foster understanding, but also enhanced communication between the public and the Department.

Enhancement of Service through Technology

We see the advantage to enhance the delivery of our service through the use of advanced technology. Hence, we explored the feasibility of implementing an electronic appointment system to facilitate applicants for legal aid to make on-line appointment for application interviews through the Department’s website. The system’s User Acceptance Test was successfully conducted in 2017.

The Department’s processing and monitoring of legal aid cases are largely dependent upon our computerised system known as the Case Management and Case Accounting System (CM&CAS). As CM&CAS has been in operation for over a decade, we believed it was time to evaluate and identify the most suitable and best approach for the development of our future computerised system in order to enhance the efficiency in the delivery of our service to the public. In this respect, we have planned to carry out a comprehensive feasibility study on our existing system and work flow to identify possible technical options for enhancement. The feasibility study is expected to commence in 2018-19.

Nowadays, QR Codes are commonly used by the general public as a convenient way to obtain information on various government services. In order to provide an additional channel for the public to access our service, we have listed the QR Codes of our information pamphlets in newly designed posters which are placed in prominent sites for easy access.

Commendation on our Customer Service

In terms of customer service, I would particularly like to mention that two of our colleagues were awarded The Ombudsman’s Awards 2017 for Officers of Public Organisations. They were commended for their outstanding customer service skills as well as commitment and proactive attitudes in handling enquiries and complaints from the public. As a team, we will continue to attach importance to public opinions on our services and enhance our customer service in line with the needs of society.

Keeping up Legal Aid Services with the Times

In 2017, we completed a review on the assignment limits for panel lawyers. With the endorsement of the Legal Aid Services Council (LASC) and in view of the large pool of panel lawyers available to handle legal aid cases, we have reduced the assignment limits for the past 12 months to 35 for civil cases and 25 for criminal cases for solicitor and to 20 civil cases and 25 criminal cases for counsel. This served not only as a means to combat touting activities, but also helped to ensure that panel lawyers are not overloaded with cases when acting for legally aided persons.

The financial eligibility limits (FELs) for the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme (OLAS) and the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme (SLAS) were last adjusted in July 2015. We conducted another review in 2017 and proposed to increase the FELs under OLAS and SLAS by 4% to reflect the accumulated change in Consumer Price Index (C) for the period from July 2014 to July 2016. With the Legislative Council’s approval of the resolution to increase the FEL under OLAS from $290,380 to $302,000, and the FEL under SLAS from $1,451,900 to $1,509,980, the new FELs is expected to come into effect in February 2018.

Mr Thomas Edward KWONG Director of Legal Aid

Looking Ahead

I am very grateful for the support given to the Department by the LASC, the Home Affairs Bureau, the two legal professions and our stakeholders throughout the implementation of our various initiatives in 2017. We would not have been able to achieve such results without their invaluable advices and input. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my colleagues for their whole-hearted commitment and contribution to the work and goals of the Department throughout the year. We appreciate the importance of our role in the legal system of Hong Kong and will strive to contribute our best in the delivery of quality legal aid services to the public.

 

 

Thomas Edward KWONG
Director of Legal Aid