A DELEGATION of Hong Kong's top judges has made Chief Justice Sir Ti Liang Yang aware they wanted somebody with experience in judiciary management to be given the $130,650 a month job of revolutionising the Judiciary. A Court of Appeal judge led the handful of Supreme Court judges in what were described as subtle representations to Sir Ti Liang, chairman of the selection panel for the new Judiciary administrator, sources revealed yesterday. After word leaked that Alice Tai Yuen-ying, then director of Intellectual Property, would get the job, the judges said somebody with experience in judiciary administration and court procedure would be better. Sir Ti Liang listened carefully and said he would take their views into consideration, sources said. The judges wanted the job to go to an applicant who formerly ran the Royal Courts of Justice in London, James Hanratty, who is Principal Crown Counsel in the Hong Kong Government's International Law Division. Mr Hanratty had previously worked with Peter Robinson, a UK expert who advised the Government in 1986 on how to improve the Judiciary in Hong Kong. Many of Mr Robinson's recommendations are being implemented now. The Government advertised in the territory and Britian for a Judiciary administrator with a salary of $130,650 a month, the same as a High Court judge, to steer a ''quiet management revolution''. The selection panel, comprising Sir Ti Liang, Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, Mr Justice Bokhary, Civil Service Secretary Stuart Harbinson and Public Service Commission Chairman Augustine Chui Kam, interviewed a shortlist of candidates out of more than 200 applications from Hong Kong and abroad. Sources close to Ms Tai, who has carved a reputation as a bright administrative trouble-shooter, said she was aware she had already ''raised the hackles'' of some on the Bench. A spokesman for the Judiciary said yesterday he had no knowledge of any representations by judges for someone with a proven track record. ''Alice Tai is very highly regarded and we have never heard any grumblings. She's doing fine, catching up with people and introducing herself,'' the spokesman said.
