Law officers () 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.
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. 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.
Role Each law officer heads a division within the Department of Justice. 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.
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. 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.
List of law officers
Current +Law OfficerDivisionDate createdIncumbentRemarksSolicitor GeneralConstitutional and Policy Affairs1947Llewellyn MuiAbolished 1979; recreated 1981Law Officer (Civil Law)Civil1 December 1856Christina CheungTitled Crown Solicitor before 1 July 1997Law DraftsmanLaw Drafting20 February 1964Michael LamDirector of Public ProsecutionsProsecutions22 December 1966Anthony ChauTitled Crown Prosecutor between 1979 and 1997Law Officer (International Law)International LawJanuary 1989James DingCreated in May 1985 as Special Duties UnitLaw Officer (National Security)National Security Prosecutions2020 or 2021UnknownSecretary to the Law Reform Commission -1980Wesley WongUpgraded to law officer in 2021; does not head a division
Defunct Law OfficerDate createdDate abolishedOfficeholderRemarksLaw Officer (Special Duties)April 2021~2022Llewellyn MuiCreated to implement 2021 electoral changes
See also
Law officers of the Crown
References