Lawmakers slam legal aid to imported staff

Two lawmakers from the business sector yesterday questioned the inclusion of non-resident workers in the list of beneficiaries of the new judicial aid system.
During the first reading of the draft law, developer and directly-elected lawmaker Mak Soi Kun voiced concern over the use of public money to help outside labour.
“We have more and more imported workers. How can we afford the inclusion of non-resident workers [in the law], whose number is increasing?” he asked.
Chief Executive-appointed Tsui Wai Kwan shared the same point of view. “Currently there are a big number of non-resident workers in Macau and if there is a labour dispute they will resort to this system. Do we have the capacity for that?” he questioned.
The director of the Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) André Cheong Weng Chon explained that non-resident workers are already included in the current law, because they live and work in Macau. “We just tried to make this clear in this new draft,” he said.
The existing legislation states that “everyone who lives in the Macau territory, even if temporarily,” has the right to request judicial aid. But the draft law now clearly extends that right to non-permanent residents, non-resident workers, refugees or other people with a special residence permit.

Blank check

Of the 23 members of the Legislative Assembly (AL) that attended yesterday’s session, three voted against the government proposal, while one declined to vote.
The pan-democrat trio – Ng Kuok Cheong, Au Kam San and Paul Chan Wai Chi – voted against the bill because it leaves the criteria for granting judicial aid for a later bylaw.
The draft law says that the “specific methods for calculating the legal income and assets ceilings [of the beneficiaries] will be stated in a bylaw.” Most lawmakers did not agree with the Administration’s view.
“I voted against this bill because it fails to clarify what are the criteria for granting the judicial aid to those without financial means. These matters should not be enshrined in bylaws,” Au said.

‘I cannot sign a blank check’ - José Pereira Coutinho

Directly-elected lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho declined to vote. “I cannot sign a blank check,” he said.
Secretary for Administration and Justice, Florinda Chan, said that the government is open to “adjusting” the bill, however, Coutinho said he couldn’t wait to have the discussion at one of the AL standing committees.
Kwan Tsui Hang threatened to vote against the bill during the debate. But in the end she voted in favour, explaining that, although lots of questions were left unanswered, “the law must be approved”.
Still, she added, “lawmakers have lots of doubts. We have to know what will be regulated by law and by administrative regulation. There is a conflict here.”
This long-brewing dispute has already led the AL first standing committee to suspend the discussion of the draft law on real estate activities. Committee president Kwan Tsui Hang threatened to go to the courts unless an interpretation consensus is reached.

Aid abuse

Another hot issue discussed was the scrapping of six situations in which the current law automatically grants judicial aid, for instance to victims of road accidents that are applying for compensation or minors who file paternity and maternity actions.
The draft law envisages that the calculation method of income and assets ceilings will take into consideration not only the applicant’s data, but also of the household. Lawmakers strongly questioned this provision.
Chief Executive-appointed lawmaker and lawyer Vong Hin Fai supported the government’s proposal, claiming the current judicial aid system is abused. “I believe that these changes aim to reduce the chance of people abusing this system, mainly those that have enough income to hire an attorney,” he said.
Gabriel Tong Io Cheng, also an appointed lawmaker and legal expert, urged the government to disclose how many cases of abuse were reported.
Secretary Florinda Chan said that policy makers have taken the neighbouring regions’ experience as a reference in drafting the bill. “Our goal is to simplify the procedures to quickly respond to the needy,” she said, adding that there are 300 cases of judicial aid per year.
The DSAJ director explained that some situations in which judicial aid could be granted were axed because there must be strict rules, just like in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Portugal.

‘I voted against this bill because it fails to clarify what are the criteria for granting the judicial aid to those without financial means’ - Au Kam San

Clear rules

“In the current law there is the concept of lack of financial capability but there is no clear rules to calculate what that is about,” he said.
“The Social Welfare Bureau [IAS] only confirms the situation of the applicant but cannot check bank savings, and neither can the judge. We have to check income, assets, liabilities and expenses,” he added.
The bill also says that a public commission, instead of local courts, will be in charge of reviewing requests for legal assistance, in order to alleviate the courts’ workload.
A victim of a criminal action must currently request judicial aid from the judge in charge of the case, who would ask the IAS to supply information about the victim’s financial situation.
The Judicial Aid Commission will be defined in a bylaw as well. The bill also says that if the applicant wins the case and consequently receives any assets or compensation above the financial caps, he or she will have to reimburse lawyer fees to the Administration.
During the same AL session, lawmakers approved new taxes for the importation of motorcycles.
Kwan declined to vote, calling on the government to “adopt measures to reduce the number of vehicles”. She said that the bill introducing new gas emissions limits would only encourage people to change vehicles instead of buying environmental-friendly ones.