July 1 court chaos fear

Court cases which straddle the handover could collapse in embarrassing circumstances because of a failure to introduce water-tight legislation, lawyers have warned.

The situation, described as 'a potential nightmare', could be one of the first problems to face the post-handover chief justice, whose appointment is expected to be announced this week.

Leading barristers are concerned that criminal trials at the High Court and District Court, currently prosecuted in the name of the Queen, will have no standing after June 30.

This could lead to cases collapsing and having to start again, wasting valuable court time and public money.

The issue has already been raised in one High Court trial which is expected to span the handover. The trial is scheduled to begin on June 16 and end in the first week of July.

A senior Legal Department source said he was concerned that sections of the Basic Law that appear to deal with the problem are too vague and open to attack.