Protesters' prosecutions call for a sensible approach
Department of Justice faces delicate task of how to deal with arrested protesters
More than 320 people have been arrested over the Occupy Central protests. In theory, thousands may be liable to prosecution. How should the Department of Justice handle potential prosecutions?
As the police will obtain the department's advice before laying charges, it plays a central role in deciding the appropriate criminal justice response. Its task will not be easy.
Already, pro-establishment legislators are asking how prosecutions will be handled, while the public is concerned a stricter approach to cases of public order has been adopted in recent times.
Above all, the department needs to be, and appear to be, apolitical. This lies at the heart of Article 63 of the Basic Law.
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung has stated: "All prosecution decisions are … totally free from any political, media or public pressure." For this reason, he should consider delegating authority to the director of public prosecutions to avoid any public perception of bias, since the protests are directed in part at a reform task force of which he is a member.
In the past few years, the department has taken a diversionary approach to public order cases. Only serious cases are prosecuted. In others, the defendant is bound over - a charge is laid and later withdrawn - or a warning letter is issued.
