Director of Public Prosecutions (Hong Kong)

British Hong Kong (before 1 July 1997) Before the creation of a dedicated prosecutions division, prosecutions were handled by the Attorney General and the Crown Solicitor, with all crown counsel being public prosecutors ex officio. As is the case today, prosecutions were sometimes briefed out to outside counsel or conducted by lay officers of other government departments. By the early 1950s, the Legal Department had a prosecutions section staffed with four crown counsel, one of which was Patrick Yu, who became the first Chinese lawyer to become a crown counsel. While both Supreme Court and magistrates' court prosecutions were under the department's remit, most cases in the magistrates' courts were prosecuted by police inspectors. The earliest mention of the position of DPP in statute was in an amendment to the Legal Officers Ordinance on 22 December 1966, which added the title of Director of Public Prosecutions to the Schedule of legal officers under the ordinance. The position was retitled Crown Prosecutor in 1979, and remained that way until the Handover in 1997, though the position continued to be commonly known as the Director of Public Prosecutions. After the Handover (1997-present) The position's title was restored to its original name upon the handover on 1 July 1997. == Role ==

The Director may be appointed from a wide range of candidates, as long as they have been called to the Hong Kong Bar; they can be either in private practice or serving in the government, and may be of any nationality. The longest serving Director, Ian Grenville Cross QC SC, was a British career prosecutor, while the first Hong Kong Chinese Director Keith Yeung SC was an eminent criminal Senior Counsel in private practice. As the head of the Prosecutions Division, the Director may or may not choose to be actively involved in court hearings. For example, while Keith Yeung was primarily known for directing overall policy and was rarely in court, David Leung was known to be actively involved and was often seen in court. Independence of the director The Secretary for Justice, a politically appointed role, is the chief prosecutor and ultimately can direct the Director on criminal prosecution matters. This has come under fire from a number of legal experts in Hong Kong, including former prosecutor Ian Grenville Cross QC SC, eminent criminal defense lawyer Cheng Huan QC SC, barrister and legal sector legislator Dennis Kwok, as well as the South China Morning Post (in an editorial). Cross has argued that Hong Kong should follow the United Kingdom, where the Attorney General for England and Wales transferred criminal prosecuting powers to the UK's Director in 2009. Retirement Directors are required to retire at age 60, and may return to private practice. Traditionally, however, outgoing Directors are offered the chance of a High Court judgeship; Directors appointed to the High Court must go through a six-month "cooling-off" period, in which they are kept out of any criminal trials, civil cases, or appeals involving the government. To date, Cross remains the only Director not to become a High Court judge post-retirement, but whether this was due to his own personal choice or the fact that a position was not offered to him is unclear. == List of Directors of Public Prosecutions ==

Before the Handover (1966-1997) • Ross Penlington (1975-1977) • David Boy, QC (1979–1982) • Max Lucas, QC (1982–1984) • Joseph Duffy, QC (1984–1986) • James Findlay, QC (1986–1989) • Anthony Duckett, QC (Acting, 1989–1990) • John Wood, CB (1990–1994) • Peter Nguyen, QC (1994–1997) After the Handover (1997-present) } • First woman appointed Director • First non-Silk to be appointed Director The incumbent Director is an unofficial Justice of the Peace and is given the "JP" designation while in office; this designation is removed upon leaving office, unless officially appointed separately. == References ==