Lawmakers on Wednesday began a three-day debate of the chief executive's latest policy address, with calls for more details on a proposed civil servant accountability mechanism.

A number of legislators spoke in favour of plans to introduce a two-tier system, which would see problems identified within government departments handled based on their severity.

The first tier covers issues of a general nature, while the second deals with widespread or systemic problems.

"I hope the authorities will hammer out details of the system as soon as possible, for example, on the assessment criteria as well as reward and penalty measures," said commercial sector lawmaker Martin Liao.

"[The administration] should also clarify – once the functions of the Public Service Commission are expanded through subsidiary legislation – whether findings of second-tier investigations would be disclosed for public scrutiny, if recommendations made by the independent panel would be binding, and whether there's an appeal mechanism."

Ronick Chan, representing the finance sector, said the administration could appoint more members to the independent commission to ensure the public is convinced by the outcome of the investigations.

Third Side's Tik Chi-yuen, for his part, underscored the importance of setting indicators for the accountability system.

The debate is expected to last until Friday.