Macau's Governor claims the mainland has a lack of commitment to solving judicial organisation issues in the run-up to the handover in December.
General Vasco Rocha Vieira said Portugal had been unsuccessfully trying for several years to draw attention to possible problems affecting the judicial system after the handover.
In remarks reported yesterday, the Governor said Portugal would continue to strive to consolidate Macau's judicial organisation system, although it had already fulfilled its duties on this issue.
The enclave's judicial and legal systems will remain basically unchanged after the handover at midnight on December 19, under the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration signed in 1987.
But judicial sources said yesterday the Portuguese side regretted China's lack of commitment to setting up a Court of Final Appeal or confirming the number of higher court judges.
While Portugal prefers seven judges for the Macau High Court and five for the future Court of Final Appeal, the Preparatory Committee of the Macau Special Administrative Region apparently prefers to limit the number of High Court judges to five and the number of Court of Final Appeal judges to three.
