Law Society president criticised for attacking Bar's election stance

The Law Society president has come in for renewed criticism after urging his fellows to deplore the Bar Association for calling on the government to accommodate the idea of public nomination in the next chief executive poll.

In an e-mail to the Law Society council, Ambrose Lam San-keung said the Bar's latest statement had "added fuel to the fire" and was "against the principle of upholding the rule of law".

"Both branches of the legal profession have stated that civil nomination is in breach of the Basic Law. We should defend this legal position to uphold the law until it is amended on proper procedure, not change it due to political pressure," he wrote.

The e-mail came a day after the Bar Association warned the government would "abuse the concept of the rule of law" if it rejected the idea of voters nominating candidates without offering alternatives to ensure the greatest possible public participation.

Lam said the Bar's "unequivocal political statement" was contrary to the Law Society's long-held stance that the "legal profession should not get into politics".

Two council members confirmed receiving the e-mail. "Lam should speak from a lawyer's point of view but he fails to follow the rules," said one. "No one would care about his personal opinions if he was not the Law Society president."