THE Judiciary is under pressure to abolish the post of the Supreme Court Registrar, following the creation of a senior administrator to take up most of his administrative duties. Although legislators at yesterday's establishment sub-committee endorsed the creation of the new post, many said they would only approve it in the Finance Committee if a satisfactory explanation was given for the retention of the registrar. The new post, mooted in the Robinson consultancy report of 1986, is intended to improve efficiency and solve problems such as the lengthy wait for trials. With a proposed monthly salary of $119,000, the senior administrator will assist the Chief Justice, Sir Ti Liang Yang, in managing the Judiciary. At present, the department's administrative work is taken up by Supreme Court Registrar Julian Betts, whose monthly salary is $101,000. The United Democrats and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hongkong (DAB) said the registrar's post should not be retained, as the creation of the new administrator's post would see a great reduction in his responsibilities. The judicial duties of the registrar could be split among the deputy registrars, according to United Democrat Cheung Man-kwong. He accused the Judiciary of making use of an urgent need to upgrade efficiency to force the Legislative Council to accept an unfair deal. ''We know there is an urgent need for a senior administrator to improve the running of the Judiciary. It is actually a good suggestion. But behind this proposal, we are being forced to accept a bad suggestion, that is, the retention of the post of the registrar,'' Mr Cheung said. He added that the Judiciary should give an undertaking on how long the post would be retained. DAB legislator Tam Yiu-chung said it was a waste of public money to create a new post while retaining the post of registrar. Judiciary Administrator Nicholas Yek Chek-ming said the role was being reviewed.
