The secretary for justice () is the head of the Hong Kong Department of Justice, the chief legal advisor to the

chief executive of Hong Kong The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...

and the government, and the chief law enforcement officer of the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

. Before the

transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

in 1997, the position was known as the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. The secretary for justice, nominated by the

Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

on the advice of the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, is an ''ex officio'' member of the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the Cabinet (government), cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the c ...

. The secretary takes office after appointment by the

Government of the People's Republic of China The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

, which is responsible for Hong Kong's

foreign affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

and defence. The secretary for justice also belongs to the Policy Committee, which is chaired by the chief secretary, The Office of the Secretary for Justice was established by the

Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). With nine chapters, 160 article ...

, which guarantees the power of the Department of Justice to control criminal prosecutions free from any interference. The position is normally held by a legal professional, and was, before July 2002, a civil service position. The secretary for justice, after the chief secretary and the

financial secretary Financial secretary is an administrative and executive government position within the governance of a state, corporation, private or public organization, small group or other body with financial assets. A financial secretary oversees policy con ...

, is one of the three highest Principal Officials of the Government. The current secretary for justice is Paul Lam, SBS, SC, JP.

History

Before 1997

Before the 1997 handover to China, the position was known as the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

(), and the department was known as the Legal Department () and was also known as the Attorney General's Chambers (). The attorney general was appointed by the secretary of state in charge of colonial affairs (first the

secretary of state for the colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

, later the foreign secretary) in consultation with the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. The office of the attorney general was never localized during British rule and no Hong Kong Chinese ever held this key post.

After 1997

The position was renamed as the secretary for justice upon the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China. Upon her appointment on 1 July 1997,

Elsie Leung Elsie Leung Oi-sie, GBM, JP (; born 24 April 1939) is a Hong Kong politician and solicitor. She was Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong from 1997 to 2005 and a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. Early life and education Leung was ...

became the first woman and first Hong Kong Chinese to hold the post. She was also the second solicitor to serve in the role. With the introduction of the Principal Officials Accountability System in 2002, the position has been filled by political appointees instead of civil servants.

Role and duties

Constitutional and statutory duties

Article 63 of the Basic Law empowers the Department of Justice to control all prosecutions, free from interference. As the head of the Department of Justice, the secretary of justice is required to discharge this constitutional duty independently, and has ultimate prosecutorial discretion. However, this discretion is typically exercised by the Director of Public Prosecutions on behalf of the secretary for justice. The secretary for justice represents the government in all civil lawsuits against it, and as guardian of the public interest, may intervene in any case and bring applications for

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

to enforce the public interest. Under Article 53 of the Basic Law, the secretary for justice is the third in line, after the chief secretary and the financial secretary, to act as chief executive when he or she is on leave, outside Hong Kong, or when the position is otherwise temporarily vacant. The secretary for justice also has a number of ex-officio roles, including being the Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Vice-Chairman of the Fight Crime Committee, and serves a member on the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Policy Committee, the

Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission The Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC, ) is a statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for advising and making recommendations to the Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing d ...

and the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Operations Review Committee. The secretary for justice ranks fifth in the Hong Kong order of precedence.

Deputies

In the course of discharging his or her duties as the chief legal advisor to the government, the secretary for justice is assisted by five law officers, namely: * the

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

who heads the Constitutional and Policy Affairs Division, * the Director of Public Prosecutions who heads the Prosecutions Division, * the Law Officer (Civil Law) (formerly the Crown Solicitor) who heads the Civil Law Division, * the Law Officer (International Law) who heads the International Law Division, and * the Law Draftsman who heads the Law Drafting Division (The Administration and Development Division is headed by an Administrative Officer.)

Official residence

The secretary for justice has an official residence at 19 Severn Road, The Peak. The residence was opened in 1934 for the use of the then attorney general of Hong Kong.

List of secretaries and attorneys general

Attorneys general, 1844–1997

Secretaries for justice, 1997–present

Political party:

Deputy secretaries for justice, 2022–present