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

P.28 八十年代初期，有大量越南船民湧入尋求庇護。 During the early 1980s, there were large numbers of Vietnamese boat people seeking asylum. Life at the Top In 1982 the then deputy Director, Tom Pokorny, left Hong Kong for retirement and on the same weekend the then Director, Brian Clancy, went into hospital. Moss arrived at work on the Monday morning to be summoned to the Chief Secretary’s office, and was told that he had been appointed acting Director. There were others with what he thought were stronger claims, but he admitted that he was fortunate in having been in the right place at the right time. Moss’ decade at the helm was at times difficult. The influx of Vietnamese boat people in large numbers seeking asylum put the Department at odds with the Government. At times this was a problem that only time resolved. He was criticised for allowing so many applications and repeatedly had to tell critics that under the Legal Aid Ordinance boat people in Hong Kong were entitled to apply for legal aid. It was the statutory duty of the Department to consider whether on the evidence it should be granted, even though it proved to be unpopular in many quarters. 公義根基、精英團隊 An Elite Team for Justice 晉升高位 1982年，時任副署長布幹禮(Tom Pokorny)達到退休之齡，啟 程返回英國；同一周末，署長祁景舒(Brian Clancy)抱恙入院。在 周一早上返回辦公室後，穆士賢奉召到布政司辦公室，獲委 任為署理署長。他認為當時並非沒有更具條件勝任的人選， 但他承認因天時地利之助而成為幸運兒。 穆士賢掌舵時是困難重重的年代，大量越南船民湧入尋求 庇護，令法援署和政府產生對立。有關問題只能隨時間慢慢 解決。當年，他因容許大量船民申請法援而備受批評，更要多 Moss emphasised that “within the officers in the Department, there was a strong sense of belief in what they were doing and a camaraderie that made the LAD a force to be reckoned with.” The Matrimonial Section practically dominated the divorce litigation in Hong Kong. The Insolvency Section was very busy dealing with claims by unpaid workers including those by seamen on ocean-going vessels for whom no one else would act. On a number of occasions, ships were arrested once they had sailed into Hong Kong where the crews’ wages would be paid under local law. He recalls the arrest of a Greek cruise liner complete with GoGo dancers which lent a more colourful aspect to the case. It was however in the fields of personal injury and employees’ compensation that the LAD began to establish an awesome reputation and its work was second to none in the Territory. Moss was proud to have been part of this team which achieved so much for those unable to obtain access to justice on their own. 在第一任法援署署長梅恩(Desmond Mayne)的管領下，法援 署的工作漸上軌道。可惜，「外展車」計劃是當中的例外。 外展車由扶輪社捐贈，負責走訪新界各區，協助當區居民申 請法援，免卻他們往返香港九龍的不便。可是，外展車的服 務並未廣受歡迎，經由這方法申請法援的人始終不多，唯一 次出現排隊人龍，竟然是因為一群小朋友誤將外展車當作雪 糕車。 穆士賢強調：「同事之間志同道合，深信工作意義重大，努 力不懈使法援署的工作受人賞識。」法援署的婚姻訴訟組負 責處理本港大部分的離婚訴訟；清盤破產小組則經常忙於處 理被拖欠薪金員工的申索，當中包括滯留海上、孤立無援的 海員。不少個案的船隻在駛進香港海域後被扣留，員工因此 能根據本港法例得到應有的工資。他曾經處理一宗希臘郵輪 的個案，受害的員工包括在船上表演歌舞的舞蹈員，這令案 件添上一份傳奇色彩。然而，真正令法援署為人稱道的，是 署方處理的人身傷害和僱員補償個案，成績堪稱全港最佳。 對於能夠參與其中，協助不能獨力尋求公義的人，穆士賢至 今仍感到自豪。