Law Draftsman

Law Draftsman
法律草擬專員
Incumbent
Michael Lam
since 16 March 2021
Department of Justice
StatusLaw Officer
Reports toSecretary for Justice
AppointerChief Executive
PrecursorLegal Draftsman
Formation20 February 1964
SalaryHKD 287,990 (monthly)

The Law Draftsman (Chinese: 法律草擬專員) is the head of the Law Drafting Division (Chinese: 法律草擬科) of the Department of Justice in Hong Kong, which is responsible for drafting all primary and secondary legislation proposed by the government. The law draftsman is one of six Law Officers in the government.

History

The first mention of a Legal Draftsman in statute was in the Legal Officers Ordinance 1950, which merged the offices of the Attorney General, Crown Solicitor, and other legal officers into a single Legal Department. The Legal Draftsman was included in the definition of "Legal Officer", which also included the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Crown Solicitor, and Crown Counsel.[1]

The present title of Law Draftsman only appeared in 1964, when the Legal Officers Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 1964 was enacted on 20 February 1964 to insert the position of Law Draftsman, among others, into the schedule of the ordinance.[2]

Role

The law draftsman is the head of the Law Drafting Division and the Keeper of the Statute Book.[3] Ranked at Directorate (Legal) Pay Scale point 6, which is equivalent to the head of a subordinate department, the Law Draftsman oversees three sub-divisions, each headed by a Deputy Law Draftsman ranked at DL5. The Law Draftsman often appears before the Legislative Council to speak on matters related to legislation, and is an ex-officio member of the Law Reform Commission. The Law Draftsman also served as the Counsel to the Legislature until 1995, when the Standing Orders of the Legislative Council were amended to name the Legal Adviser of the Legislative Council Secretariat as counsel instead.[4]

At least three Law Draftsmen, including Eamonn Moran, Paul Wan and Theresa Johnson, were recruited from the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in Australia.[5][6]

The Law Drafting Division

The division also oversees the operation of Hong Kong e-Legislation, which is Hong Kong's official online legislation database.[7]

List of Law Draftsmen

No. Law Draftsman Term start Term end Term length
- Edward Sainsbury (acting)[8] ~1950
Henrique Alberto de Barros Botelho December 1960[9] December 1966
J.F. McKeon[10] 2 October 1967[11] May 1972
Gerald Paul Nazareth[12] 23 May 1979[a][13] 8 August 1984
James O'Grady[14] November 1984 20 November 1990[15]
James Kerr Findlay 1990 1994
Tony Yen Yuen-ho[16] 1994[b] 25 March 2007[17]
- Gilbert Mo Sik-keung (acting) 25 March 2007[18] 25 June 2007
- Nilmini Dissanayake (acting) 25 June 2007 25 September 2007
Edward Patrick Aquinas Moran[c] January 2008[6] 1 July 2012
- Gilbert Mo Sik-keung (acting) 1 July 2012[19] 1 October 2012
Paul Wan How-leung October 2012 October 2015[20]
Theresa Ann Johnson 4 January 2016[5] 3 January 2020[21] 4 years
- Fanny Ip Fung-king (acting) 4 January 2020 15 March 2021
Michael Lam Siu-chung 16 March 2021[21] Incumbent

Notes

  1. ^ Either February or May 1979
  2. ^ Acting from September 1994 to July 1995
  3. ^ Also known as Eamonn Patrick Aquinas Moran

References

  1. ^ Hong Kong Legislative Council (22 February 1950). "Record of Proceedings" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  2. ^ "L.N. 31 of 1964". www.elegislation.gov.hk. 20 February 1964.
  3. ^ Law Drafting Division, Department of Justice (2012). Drafting Legislation in Hong Kong: A Guide to Styles & Practices (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-05-22. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
  4. ^ "A Companion to the history, rules and practices of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" (PDF). www.legco.gov.hk. 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b "news.gov.hk - Categories - Admin & Civic Affairs - New law draftsman appointed". Hong Kong's Information Services Department (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
  6. ^ a b "Appointment of Law Draftsman". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  7. ^ "Face to Face with Michael Lam Siu-chung, Law Draftsman – Law Drafting Division of the Department of Justice | Hong Kong Lawyer". www.hk-lawyer.org. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
  8. ^ "HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL" (PDF). www.legco.gov.hk. 8 March 1950. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 May 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  9. ^ Luzzatto, Rola (1973). Hong Kong Who's who: An Almanac of Personalities and Their History. Rola Luzzatto.
  10. ^ "LAW DRAFTSMAN TO RETIRE A.G. Presents Souvenir To Mr. McKeon". search.grs.gov.hk. 19 May 1972. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Staff list, Hong Kong Government, 1970". digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk. Archived from the original on 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
  12. ^ "Members Database". app.legco.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2025-01-12. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  13. ^ "Daily Information Bulletin". www.grs.gov.hk. 23 February 1981.
  14. ^ "Commission members & staff". www.hkreform.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2025-08-07. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  15. ^ "Official Report of Proceedings" (PDF). www.legco.gov.hk. 21 November 1990. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  16. ^ ". . . as local lawyer Yen's value lifts". South China Morning Post. 21 July 1995. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  17. ^ "No successor for retiring law drafter". South China Morning Post. 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  18. ^ "G.N. 1861". www.gld.gov.hk. 23 March 2007.
  19. ^ "G.N. 4373". www.gld.gov.hk. 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Appointment of Law Draftsman". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2025-05-15. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  21. ^ a b "Appointment of Law Draftsman (with photo)". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
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