Tony Yen, head of Hong Kong's Department of Justice's law drafting division, said this yesterday while speaking of his experiences and the growing trends in relation to his work.

During the process, new trends such as compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations, environmental protection, human rights, and the Basic Law will be carefully assessed to ensure these aspects are not infringed upon.

"Law drafting is an evolving thing that as law drafters, we must always learn new techniques, know what society feels, have international visions and never lock ourselves in the offices," he said.

Taking the WTO example, he said relevant Hong Kong laws must fulfil international trade regulations while the concept of check and balance must also be fully considered in some cases.

"For example, whilst the law attempts to give government adequate power to execute the law, prior court orders may be required for such law execution and people should be allowed an appeal channel," he explained.

For every bill, there are thorough and occasionally heated discussions with the policy bureau who give the drafting instructions before the agreed version is presented to the Legislative Council.

Lawmakers and society may sometimes think the bills are not good enough since they look at the issues from different angles.

(China Daily August 17, 2001)