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Trouble on the through train

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Judicial issues dominate Macau's transition process as the enclave enters the final six-month run-up to the handover at midnight on December 19.

Governor General Vasco Rocha Vieira abandoned his customary caution and ruffled a few feathers this week by saying he regretted China's lack of commitment to dealing with remaining organisational problems within the judiciary.

While the Governor was merely reiterating sentiments voiced several times, official sources said his statement was meant to remind China of 'grave' delays to implementing Macau's future system of judicial organisation.

Portugal wanted Macau's new judicial system in place and tested well before the handover, but China last year shifted discussions on the issue from the Sino-Portuguese Joint Liaison Group to the 100-member Preparatory Committee of the Macau Special Administrative Region. This happened after talks stalled on issues such as the structure and professional status of the post-handover bench and prosecution.

The Preparatory Committee, which comprises 60 members from Macau and 40 from the mainland, has vowed a smooth transition for the judiciary, and appears to favour setting up a Court of Final Appeal (CFA) after the handover, limiting its bench to three judges. Portugal prefers a CFA of five judges, set up before the handover.

Under the Basic Law, Macau will have a three-tier judiciary, comprising a court of first instance (District Court), including an examining magistrate for suspected criminal cases; a court of second instance (High Court); and the CFA. Macau now has about 45 judges and public prosecutors, a number expected to be only marginally lower after the handover.

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