Lawyers’ group calls on Hong Kong justice minister to delegate prosecution decisions
- The Bar Association says protocol should be established to give the director of public prosecutions the say on whether to bring charges
- Giving decisions to a third party would help dispel public perceptions of bias in certain contentious cases
The city’s professional body for barristers has called on the justice minister to establish protocol and delegate prosecution decisions to the top prosecutor, after her department controversially dropped a case against former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying.
In a latest submission to lawmakers, the association said Cheng’s dual role sitting in the chief executive’s cabinet while overseeing prosecution decisions has led to the perception of bias in Leung’s case.
“No matter what the secretary for justice might say about the propriety of her decision-making in an individual case, the fact is that what matters to the public are appearances,” the association said, making clear it was not concerned about the specifics of the Leung case.
The professional body said that, given Cheng’s official status in Exco, the public might have doubts on controversial prosecution decisions – whether they were made with legal considerations, “or whether it was politically expedient”.
To resolve the public’s concerns, the association urged Cheng to follow the British example and delegate all prosecution decisions to the director of public prosecutions, for all but the most exceptional cases.
