The judiciary promised yesterday to respond to legislators' recommendations on ways to make the handling of complaints against judges more transparent. According to a report by the Legislative Council secretariat, the governments of Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom have posted information about the procedures and statistics on complaints against judges on the internet. It suggested Hong Kong could do the same and study codes of conduct in place overseas for judicial officers. Most of the legislators on the Legco panel involved in the administration of justice and legal services supported the idea. Democrat legislator Albert Ho Chun-yan said a code of conduct would make the complaints mechanism more transparent. 'The public would know whether they should complain or lodge an appeal,' he said. Judiciary Administrator Wilfred Tsui Chi-keung promised to respond to the suggestions after the summer recess. He said the Judiciary received 120 complaints about judges last year. Twenty-nine alleged misbehaviour and 91 related to the rulings of judges which were eventually dealt with through the appeals mechanism. Mr Tsui said in some cases, complainants were merely not satisfied with the ruling and complained the judges had been impolite.
