Department of Justice (Hong Kong)

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Department of Justice
律政司
Department of Justice (Hong Kong) Logo.png
Agency overview
Formed1844;180 years ago (1844) (as Legal Department)
1 July 1997;27 years ago (1997-07-01)
HeadquartersG/F, Main Wing,
6/F, Main and East Wing,
Justice Place, 18 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong
5-7/F, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong
MottoRule of Law and Justice for All
Employees1,512 [1]
Annual budget$2.454 billion HKD (2025) [1]
Minister responsible
Child agencies
  • · Prosecutions Division
  • · Civil Division
  • · Legal Policy Division
  • · Law Drafting Division
  • · International Law Division
  • · Administration and Development Division
Website www.doj.gov.hk
Department of Justice
Chinese 律政司
Cantonese Yale Leuht jing sī
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Lǜzhèngsī
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization Leuht jing sī
Jyutping Leot6 zing3 si1

The Department of Justice (DoJ) is the department responsible for legal policy, the administration of justice, drafting legislation, and providing legal advice to the government in Hong Kong. It is headed by the Secretary for Justice, who reports to the Chief Executive directly. Paul Lam, a barrister, has served as Secretary for Justice since July 2022. [2]

Contents

Before 1997, the names of the department and the position was the Legal Department (律政署) and Attorney General (律政司) respectively. The Department of Justice provides legal advice to other departments in the government system, “drafts government bills, makes prosecution decisions, and promotes the rule of law”. [3]

History

Before 1997

After 1997

Protest and national security cases (2019-)

In March 2021, after 15 of 47 pro-democracy figures were granted bail by a court, the DoJ immediately filed an appeal, sending the 15 people back to their detention cells. [4]

Also in March 2021, Hong Kong Free Press reported that 3 defendants were acquitted of rioting because they were not physically present at the riot, with the DoJ later complaining to the Court of Final Appeal that the acquittal was erroneous and that people could still be participants in a crime even if not physically present, such as by using social media and pressing the "like" button. [5]

In April 2021, a spokesman for the DoJ commented on US ambassador Hanscom Smith's criticism of Hong Kong's arrest of Jimmy Lai, claiming that "It is regrettable to note that the convictions have drawn unfair criticisms with political overtones. Any assertion to suggest that 'Beijing [is] eroding Hong Kong's freedoms' is totally baseless." [6]

Separately in April 2021, the DoJ asserted that in cases involving the national security police, the police would be exempt from laws that cover the search and seizure of journalists' material. [7] In response, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said that the move would make it more difficult for journalists to protect their sources. [7]

Also in April 2021, after the sentencing of Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy figures drew criticism from overseas politicians, the DoJ released a statement saying that though the government attaches great importance to rights and freedom, those freedoms are not absolute. [8]

In December 2022, the DoJ said criticisms were "far from the truth" when the CEO of Maxwell Chambers said "Hong Kong, in particular, was one place where some parties with very long-term contracts avoided putting it as the seat of arbitration, due to uncertainty about the legal environment after Hong Kong returned to China, even with assurances of 50 years of self-government and freedom of speech." [9] [10] [11]

In August 2023, after the High Court blocked the DoJ from banning the song Glory to Hong Kong, the DoJ appealed and claimed that the Chief Executive should have more power than the courts, for national security matters. [12]

Organisation

Leadership offices

Divisions

DivisionLaw OfficerResponsibility
Civil DivisionLaw Officer (Civil Law)Provides legal advice on civil law to all Government bureaux and departments and represents the Government both as solicitors and as barristers in all civil litigation, including arbitrations
Constitutional and Policy Affairs Division Solicitor General In charge of legal policy, constitutional development and elections, the Basic Law, human rights, and China law
International Law DivisionLaw Officer (International Law)provides advice on public international law to the Government and negotiates, or provides legal advisers on negotiations, for bilateral agreements. Also handles mutual judicial assistance matters.
Law Drafting DivisionLaw DraftsmanDrafting all Government legislation, vetting private bills, and maintaining the Hong Kong e-Legislation database
National Security Prosecutions DivisionUnknownProsecution of offences endangering national security and other related legal work
Prosecutions Division Director of Public Prosecutions handles prosecutions in the majority of appeals and trials in the Court of First Instance and District Court.
Administration and Development DivisionDirector of Administration and DevelopmentResponsible for general administration, personnel and staff management, finance, and training

Boards and committees

Ministers

The department has four political appointees, with principal officials in bold:

MinisterPortraitOfficeTook office
The Hon. Paul Lam SBS SC JP Paul Lam 2023.jpg Secretary for Justice1 July 2022
The Hon. Horace Cheung SBS JP Horace Cheung.jpg Deputy Secretary for Justice1 July 2022
Denise Hung Hiu-kingPolitical Assistant to the Secretary for Justice1 September 2022
Nicole Chan Sin ManPolitical Assistant to the Deputy Secretary for Justice22 July 2022 [13]

Headquarters

Justice Place in 2022. Central Government Offices East Wing 10-09-2022.jpg
Justice Place in 2022.

The department is headquartered in the former Central Government Offices, which is a Grade I historic building. Now known as Justice Place, the Justice Department relocated to the premises in phases in 2015 and 2018, as part of a plan to preserve the buildings, which were originally slated for demolition and redevelopment in the early 2010s.

Before the relocation, the department's offices were scattered across the Queensway Government Offices and other buildings. [14]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "budget.gov.hk" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "Executive Council - Membership of Executive Council - Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam Ting-kwok". www.ceo.gov.hk. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "Department of Justice". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "15 granted bail out of 47 democrats but all go back into detention after prosecutors appeal ｜ Apple Daily". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Hamlett, Tim (29 March 2021). "Hong Kong and the terrifying legal gamble of pressing a digital button". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Foreign ministry accuses US envoy to Hong Kong of 'smearing' electoral overhaul". South China Morning Post. 2 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Hong Kong national security police can seize journalistic files without court approval: prosecutors ｜ Apple Daily". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Kong, Dimsumdaily Hong (17 April 2021). "Department of Justice says HKSAR Government respects rights and freedoms protected under the Basic Law". Dimsum Daily. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Lawyers downplay fracas between Hong Kong, Singapore over arbitration capabilities". South China Morning Post. 25 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "Govt: law journal's criticisms 'far from truth' - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "Department of Justice's response to media enquiries". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  12. ↑ Leung, Hillary (10 August 2023). "Hong Kong leader should outweigh courts in national security matters, gov't says after protest song ban rejected". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Appointment of Under Secretaries and Political Assistants (with photos)". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "Department of Justice - DOJ2015 - Administration & Development Division - Relocation to the former Central Government Offices". www.doj.gov.hk. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
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