Law officer (Hong Kong)

Law officers (Chinese: 律政專員) in the Hong Kong Department of Justice are senior government lawyers who each head one of the department's six divisions. They are the most senior civil servants in the department and report directly to the secretary for justice, who is a political appointee.

History

The rank of law officer was created in 1979 as a new civil service rank below the Attorney General and above principal crown counsel. At the time of the rank's inception, the law officers were the Crown Solicitor, Director of Public Prosecutions and Law Draftsman; the holders of these posts were previously graded as principal crown counsel. A Law Officer (International Law) was added in 1989.[1]

Following the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020, a Law Officer (National Security) was added to head the National Security Prosecutions Division, formally separate from the Director of Public Prosecutions, who stated in his resignation letter that he had been excluded from handling national security cases.[2] Very little information is publicly available about the role; the government has declined to release information about the division's budget or the identity of its head.[3]

Role

Each law officer heads a division within the Department of Justice.[4] Before the first deputy secretary of justice was appointed in 2022, the law officers would deputise for the secretary for justice when he or she was away from Hong Kong.[5]

Law officers are graded at point 6 (the highest point) on the Directorate (Legal) Pay Scale, equivalent to the head of a government department, and are paid a salary of 287,990 HKD per month.[6] While most law officers are selected through internal promotion, law officers are sometimes appointed from outside the department, with the three law draftsmen who served successively from 2008 to 2020 all being recruited from the office of parliamentary counsel in Australia.

Unlike their counterparts in the UK, law officers in Hong Kong are not political appointees, and report to a minister instead of directly to the head of government.[5]

List of law officers

Current

Law Officer Division Date created Incumbent Remarks
Solicitor General Constitutional and Policy Affairs 1947 Llewellyn Mui Abolished 1979; recreated 1981
Law Officer (Civil Law) Civil 1 December 1856 Christina Cheung Titled Crown Solicitor before 1 July 1997
Law Draftsman Law Drafting 20 February 1964 Michael Lam
Director of Public Prosecutions Prosecutions 22 December 1966 Maggie Yeung Titled Crown Prosecutor between 1979 and 1997
Law Officer (International Law) International Law January 1989[1] James Ding Created in May 1985 as Special Duties Unit[1]
Law Officer (National Security) National Security Prosecutions[5] 2020 or 2021 Unknown
Secretary to the Law Reform Commission - 1980 Wesley Wong Upgraded to law officer in 2021; does not head a division[7]

Defunct

Law Officer Date created Date abolished Officeholder Remarks
Law Officer (Special Duties) April 2021 ~2022 Llewellyn Mui Created to implement 2021 electoral changes

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services (Papers) 13 Jan 97". www.legco.gov.hk. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  2. ^ Creery, Jennifer (3 August 2020). "Hong Kong's director of public prosecutions David Leung resigns over differences with justice secretary". www.hongkongfp.com. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  3. ^ "LCQ4: Manpower and expenditure of the Department of Justice". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  4. ^ "Department of Justice - About Us - Organisation". www.doj.gov.hk. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  5. ^ a b c "A Hong Kong deputy justice chief 'solves problem of who's in charge if boss away'". South China Morning Post. 2022-05-21. Archived from the original on 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  6. ^ "Civil Service Bureau - Directorate (Legal) Pay Scale". www.csb.gov.hk. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  7. ^ "ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE" (PDF). www.legco.gov.hk. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
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