Local legal appointments hailed as victory

THE appointment of a new judge and a magistrate has been hailed as a victory for the Hong Kong localisation process.

The Judiciary yesterday announced that Brian de Souza was to become a District Court judge and Anthony To Kwai-fung made a principal magistrate.

Mr de Souza and Mr To were both born, educated and have practised in Hong Kong.

Magistrate Li Zong-er said: ''Any appointment of local officers should be welcomed. It is good for Hong Kong.'' And another local member of the Judiciary said: ''This is an example of localisation in practice. It shows that the Judiciary is committed to employing home-grown talent. We would like to see more of this.'' Mr de Souza was born in 1948 and educated at St Joseph's College and the University of Hong Kong, where he obtained a bachelor of law degree. He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1977 and worked in private practice until his appointment as a magistrate in 1985. He was appointed principal magistrate in April this year.

Mr To was born in 1946. He obtained a BSc and bachelor and master of law degrees at the University of Hong Kong. Mr To was admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1981. After qualifying as a solicitor, he joined the Legal Department in 1981 as a Crown Counsel. In 1987 he was appointed magistrate, and a year later presiding officer of the Labour Tribunal.

One of the two men's new colleagues commented: ''The pace of localisation has been slow. Of the nine Court of Appeal judges, only one is local. Of the 21 High Court judges, only six are locals.