THEY MEET BEHIND closed doors and their discussions are so secret that if any of the members dared to reveal details to an outsider they could be hauled into court and sentenced to a year in prison.
But this is not some shady intelligence organisation dealing with highly sensitive matters of national security. These are the judge-makers, responsible for appointments to the Hong Kong bench.
The Judicial Officers' Recommendation Commission has, since the handover, been selecting judges, who are then formally appointed by the chief executive. But little is known about the criteria it adopts or the way in which the commission goes about its task.
Members are forbidden by law from revealing what goes on in the secret meetings. As a result, Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang, who chairs the commission, did not even feel able to reveal whether all its decisions have been unanimous. 'This is confidential information,' he said in response to a question from the South China Morning Post.
But changes could be on the way, to make the judge-making body more open and subject to greater scrutiny from the Legislative Council.
The secretive process, the composition of the commission, the influence of the Government upon its work, and the possibility of advertising posts for judges in the higher courts are all being considered.