The Institute of Certified Public Accountants has decided not to appeal against a court ruling that requires it to resume distributing newsletters to its members for Civic Party legislator Mandy Tam Heung-man.
Institute president Mark Fong Chung said it made the decision despite legal advice that it had 'perfectly legitimate grounds to lodge an appeal' and 'a very good chance of winning'. The major consideration was not to further politicise the debate, he said.
In a judicial review last month, the High Court said the professional body would need very strong reasons to justify its refusal to continue delivering the accountancy sector legislator's mail, which it had been doing for 20 years.
The legal battle arose when the institute decided last October to stop mailing Ms Tam's newsletter to its 26,000 members, about 80 per cent of whom were registered voters in the accountancy sector.
Only about 300 members who requested the newsletter continued to receive it.
The institute said the newsletter's political content was irrelevant to the professional practices of members.
Mr Fong said yesterday the institute had no choice but to continue distributing the newsletter in compliance with the court judgment.