Court of Final Appeal President Sam Hou Fai slammed veterans in the city’s legal profession for insisting on sticking to the old ways of thinking which he said continued to hinder the development of local society.
Sam made the remarks on Wednesday when delivering a speech at a ceremony marking the beginning of the Judicial Year 2017/18, at the Macau Cultural Centre in Nape.
According to the Judicial Organisation Framework Law, the judicial year in Macau starts on September 1 every year, for which a solemn ceremony is to be held to mark the commencement. The courts are in summer recess in August.
According to the Macau Post Daily, Sam said that one of the important ways to improve the efficiency of the judicial process is to reform the judicial procedures system.
Sam pointed out that the government is studying possible amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, adding he hoped that members from various segments of civil society would voice their opinions on the matter.
Sam went on to say that he particularly hoped that the “so-called” veterans in the legal fraternity would realise and “embrace the fact that Macau has returned to China and that the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) has been established for nearly 18 years”, adding that they should not to cling to the old thoughts and systems that hinder the development of civil society and the administration of justice, which he noted have been discarded for a long time by European countries using the Continental Legal System, including Portugal.
Sam urged the veterans in the legal profession to promote possible amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, based on the “one country, two systems” principle as well as the real situation in Macau, with the aim of simplifying legal proceedings and improving the efficiency of the judicial process.
Meanwhile, in his speech Sam also called for the drafting of a bill regulating the city’s mediation process and the setting-up of mediation entities for different matters, with the aim of providing residents with an alternative means of conflict resolution.
