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Top judge 'should not be quizzed'

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The post-handover government would oppose questioning of the Chief Justice-designate by the provisional legislature, a source said yesterday.

Provisional legislature members have suggested they might interview the Chief Justice-designate as part of the endorsement process laid down in the Basic Law.

The source - a senior official in Chief Executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa's office - said the interim body would be told the reasons and procedure for choosing the candidate.

'But the body should not ask the chief justice to attend its meetings and be questioned,' the source said. This was necessary to ensure the chief justice's impartiality remained untarnished in future court cases.

It was important that the chief justice did not express opinions on public issues, the source said. The former chief justice, Yang Ti Liang, had done this when he stood in the chief executive contest and should therefore not be reappointed as a judge.

Mr Tung is likely to announce next week that Executive Councillor Andrew Li Kwok-nang QC, will fill the post.

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