Legal Department (Hong Kong)

The '''Legal Department''', also known as the '''Attorney General's Chambers''', was the department responsible for advising the government on legal matters, drafting legislation and conducting public prosecutions in [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] until 1997, when Hong Kong ceased to be a British [[crown colony]].<ref name=":0" /> It was led by the [[Secretary for Justice|Attorney General]], who was the third-most senior civil servant in colonial Hong Kong, after the [[Chief Secretary for Administration|Chief Secretary]] and [[Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)|Financial Secretary]].

The '''Legal Department''', also known as the '''Attorney General's Chambers''', was the department responsible for advising the government on legal matters, drafting legislation and conducting public prosecutions in [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] until 1997, when Hong Kong ceased to be a British [[crown colony]].<ref name=":0" /> It was led by the [[Secretary for Justice|Attorney General]], who was the third-most senior civil servant in colonial Hong Kong, after the [[Chief Secretary for Administration|Chief Secretary]] and [[Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)|Financial Secretary]].

The department was responsible for dealing with criminal cases and cases on behalf of the Government of Hong Kong. The name of the department was changed to the [[Department of Justice (Hong Kong)|Department of Justice]] upon the [[Handover of Hong Kong|transfer of sovereignty in 1997]], with the head of the department renamed the [[Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong)|Secretary for Justice]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Government Records Service |title=Files Relating to the Drafting of Hong Kong Legislation |url=https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=1901+map&eid=l5M44qwIUB43qMg3QwhBeg%3D%3D&ls=q%3D1901%2Bmap |access-date=8 July 2025 |website=www.grs.gov.hk}}</ref>

The department was created in 1950 as the product of a merger between the Attorney General's Department and the Crown Solicitor's Department. The name of the department was changed to the [[Department of Justice (Hong Kong)|Department of Justice]] upon the [[Handover of Hong Kong|transfer of sovereignty in 1997]], with the head of the department renamed the [[Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong)|Secretary for Justice]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Government Records Service |title=Files Relating to the Drafting of Hong Kong Legislation |url=https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/arcview.xhtml?q=1901+map&eid=l5M44qwIUB43qMg3QwhBeg%3D%3D&ls=q%3D1901%2Bmap |access-date=8 July 2025 |website=www.grs.gov.hk}}</ref>

== History ==

== History ==

The Legal Department was created in 1950 with the enactment of the Legal Officers Ordinance 1950, which merged the Attorney General's Department and the Crown Solicitor's Department. In 1968, the Legal Department was organised into five Divisions, all of which still remain today.<ref name=":0" /> In 1983, the Department consisted of 154 Crown counsel, an increase of 50% compared to 1978.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lyons |first=David |date=1983 |title=The Role of the Attorney General's Chambers in Hong Kong |url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/2490/ |journal=Hong Kong Law Journal |volume=13 |pages=280 |via=HeinOnline}}</ref>

The Legal Department was created in 1950 with the enactment of the Legal Officers Ordinance 1950, which merged the Attorney General's Department and the Crown Solicitor's Department. The ordinance also had the effect of giving "legal officers", which now included the Attorney General, the Solicitor General, the Crown Solicitor, Crown Counsel, the Legal Draftsman and their deputies, the right to practice as both barristers and solicitors while they were in office.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hong Kong Legislative Council |url=https://www.legco.gov.hk/1950/h500222.pdf |title=Official Report of Proceedings |date=22 February 1950 |pages=18}}</ref> The ordinance also codified the unwritten convention that the Solicitor General, as the Attorney General's chief deputy, had the same rights accorded to the Attorney General.

In 1968, the Legal Department was organised into five Divisions, all of which still remain today.<ref name=":0" /> In 1983, the Department consisted of 154 Crown counsel, an increase of 50% compared to 1978.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lyons |first=David |date=1983 |title=The Role of the Attorney General's Chambers in Hong Kong |url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/2490/ |journal=Hong Kong Law Journal |volume=13 |pages=280 |via=HeinOnline}}</ref>

The Attorney General of Hong Kong had powers equivalent to the Attorney General of England and Wales.<ref>Cheung Sou-yat v The Queen CACC 16/1979 [1979] HKLR 630 </ref> <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Department of Justice |date=November 2008 |title=Prosecutorial Independence — Continuity and Development |url=https://www.doj.gov.hk/en/publications/pdf/basiclaw/basic11_2.pdf |journal=Basic Law Bulletin |issue=11 |pages=4}}</ref>

The Attorney General of Hong Kong had powers equivalent to the Attorney General of England and Wales.<ref>Cheung Sou-yat v The Queen CACC 16/1979 [1979] HKLR 630 </ref> <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Department of Justice |date=November 2008 |title=Prosecutorial Independence — Continuity and Development |url=https://www.doj.gov.hk/en/publications/pdf/basiclaw/basic11_2.pdf |journal=Basic Law Bulletin |issue=11 |pages=4}}</ref>