法律援助署五十周年紀念特刊 | Legal Aid Department 50th Anniversary Commemorative Publication

P.23 法律援助署五十周年紀念特刊 Personal and Professional Highs Kwong is proud of the Department’s various achievements over the past seven years. These include ongoing updates of the Department’s method for computation of contributions and increase of financial eligibility limits (FEL) for legal aid under the ordinary (OLAS) and supplementary (SLAS) legal aid schemes. “The current FEL for OLAS is $420,400 and for SLAS is $2,102,000,” he states. “At present, more than 72% of legally aided persons are not required to pay any contribution. And more than 81% pay contribution less than $1,536.” Following a comprehensive review of criminal legal aid fees, significant upward adjustments have been made for fees payable to counsel, solicitor advocate, and instructing solicitor undertaking criminal legal aid work. “In terms of enhancing access to justice, the Department’s effort to maintain a robust legal aid scheme was acknowledged by encouraging comments from the Judiciary,” notes Kwong. “For example, at the opening of the Legal Year in 2016, the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Geoffrey Ma commented: ‘Legal aid has provided the necessary access to justice for many litigants. These have included people who have suffered serious injuries, their family members, and those persons who have needed the protection of the law but did not have the means to engage private legal representation. Certainly, in the area of public law, legal aid has played its part in ensuring that Hong Kong’s public and constitutional laws have properly developed.’” Kind words and gratitude also come from people the Department helped directly, with overall satisfaction level of legal aid services users currently at 90%. The Department garnered Award of The Ombudsman’s Award 2015 for Public Organisations and the Grand Award of The Ombudsman’s Award 2016 for Public Organisations. Further, 9 individual Department officers were awarded The Ombudsman’s Award for Officers of Public Organisations over the past 7 years. Most recently, the Department won the Bronze Prize of the Departmental Service Enhancement Award (Small Department Category) under the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2019. 卓越功績 署長對法援署過去7年的成就感到自豪。這包括分擔費計算 方法的持續更新，以及普通法律援助計劃（普通計劃）和法 律援助輔助計劃（輔助計劃）的財務資源限額的上調等。 「普通計劃的財務資源限額目前為420,400元，輔助計劃的 限額則為2,102,000元。」他指出：「現時，超過72％的法援 受助人無須繳交任何分擔費；超過81％受助人的分擔費則少 於1,536元。」署方更在全面檢討刑事法律援助費用後，大幅 上調大律師、訟辯律師及發出指示的律師辦理刑事法援案件 的費用。 「在協助更多人尋求公義方面，司法機構對法援署致力提供 優質法援服務亦予以充分肯定。」署長指出：「正如終審法 院首席法官馬道立於2016年法律年度開啟典禮演辭所言： 『法律援助讓眾多訴訟人獲得向法院尋求公道所需的途徑， 他們包括嚴重受傷的人士、其家屬，以及其他需要法律保障 但並無經濟能力聘請法律代表的人士。當然，在公法這個重 要的範疇裏，法律援助對確保香港的公法和憲法的正常發展 作出貢獻。』」 直接獲法援署幫助的人亦對署方表達稱許和謝意，現時法援 服務的整體滿意程度為90%。部門亦榮獲2015年申訴專員嘉 許獎（公營機構獎），以及2016年申訴專員嘉許獎（大獎）。 此外，在過去7年， 部門亦有9名同事分別獲得申訴專員嘉許 獎的公職人員獎。 最近，部門更獲得2019年公務員優質服務 獎勵計劃的部門精進服務獎（小部門組別）銅獎。 法援署榮獲2016年申訴專員嘉許獎大獎。 The Department garnered the Grand Award of The Ombudsman’s Award for Public Organisations in 2016.