Secretary for Justice
Encyclopedia
The Secretary for Justice is a member of the Hong Kong Government responsible for prosecutions and legal matters. He or she heads the Department of Justice
Department of Justice (Hong Kong)
The Department of Justice is the department responsible for the laws of Hong Kong headed by the Secretary for Justice. Before 1997, the names of the department and the position was the Legal Department and Attorney General respectively....

.

The Secretary for Justice is the third in line, after the Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary for Administration
The Chief Secretary for Administration , commonly known as Chief Secretary and abbreviated as CS, is the second highest position of the Hong Kong Government...

 and the Financial Secretary
Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)
Financial Secretary , often abbreviated as FS, is a position of the Government of Hong Kong. The FS assists the Chief Executive in supervising the policy bureaux as directed by the CE, mostly finance and economy-related, and plays a key role in ensuring harmonisation in policy formulation and...

, to act for the Chief Executive
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...

 when he or she is on leave, outside Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, or when the position is otherwise temporarily vacant.

The Secretary for Justice ranks fifth in the Hong Kong order of precedence
Hong Kong order of precedence
The Hong Kong order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the Government of Hong Kong. Administered by the government's Protocol Division, the hierarchy does not determine the order of succession for the office of Chief Executive, which is instead specified...

.

The current Secretary for Justice is Wong Yan Lung
Wong Yan Lung
Wong Yan-lung, SC, JP is the current Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong since 20 October 2005.-Early years:Wong grew up in a small flat in Tai Wong Street East in Wan Chai. He sold ice cream with his father for a monthly income of HK$300-HK$400. Wong graduated from secondary school at Queen's...

 (黃仁龍), SC
Senior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, typically equivalent to the title "Queen's Counsel" used in Commonwealth Realms...

.

Etymology

Before the 1997 handover to China, the position was known as the Attorney General (律政司), and the department was known as the Legal Department
Legal Department
The Legal Department , headed by the Attorney General, was the department responsible for the laws of Hong Kong until 1997, when Hong Kong ceased to be a British crown colony....

 (律政署). The office of the Attorney General was never localized during British rule and no Hong Kong Chinese ever held this key post.

List of Attorneys General before 1997

! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Office Holder
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Term
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-
| Thomas Chisholm Anstey
Thomas Chisholm Anstey
Thomas Chisholm Anstey was an English lawyer and one of the first Catholic parliamentarians in the nineteenth century. He also wrote pamphlets on legal and political topics, particularly those relevant to Roman Catholics.Anstey favoured the repeal of the Union both with Ireland and Scotland...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1855-1859
| first AG of Hong Kong
|-
| William Henry Adams
William Henry Adams
William Henry Adams was a British politician Conservative Party politician. He was elected unopposed at the 1857 general election as one of the two Members of Parliament for Boston in Lincolnshire, having contested the seat unsuccessfully at the 1852 general election and at a by-election in 1856...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1860-1875
|
|-
| George Phillippo, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1876-1879
| first non-British born AG - born in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...


|-
| Edward Louchlin O'Malley, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1884-1889
|
|-
| W. Meigh Goodman, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

/KC
| 1890-1902
|
|-
| Sir Henry Spencer Berkeley, KC
| 1902-1906
|
|-
| Rees Davies
Rees Davies
Sir Robert Rees Davies CBE , was a noted Welsh historian.He was born in Merionethshire, and educated at Bala grammar school. He was bilingual in Welsh and English. He received a First in his degree from University College, London, where he later returned as a lecturer...

, KC
| 1907-1912
|
|-
| J. A. S. Bucknill, KC
| 1912-1914
|
|-
| Sir Joseph H. Kemp, KC
| 1914-1930
|
|-
| Chaloner Alabaster (junior), KC
| 1930-1941
|
|-
| None
| December 1941-March 1946
| British administration suspended during Japanese occupation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...


|-
| G. E. Strickland, KC
| 1946
| acting AG
|-
| John Bowes Griffin, KC
| 1947-1951
|
|-
| Arthur Ridehalgh, KC/QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1952-1961
| last AG to be a KC
|-
| Maurice Heenan
Maurice Heenan
Maurice Heenan was born in Wyndham, Southland, New Zealand on 8 October 1912. His mother was Ann Frame and his father was David Donnoghue Heenan . Maurice attended Canterbury College in New Zealand from 1937–1946 and received his LLB from Canterbury College, University of New Zealand in 1946...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1962-1966
| non-British born (born in New Zealand)
|-
| Denys Tudor Emil Roberts, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1966-1973
|
|-
| John William Dixon Hobley, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1973-1979
|
|-
| John Calvert Griffiths
John Calvert Griffiths
John Calvert Griffiths was Attorney General of Hong Kong from 1979–1983.Griffiths has since entered private practice, at least in part as a criminal defense attorney. He defended Chim Pui Chung in a costly, 131 day long trial in the late 1990s...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1979-1983
| last non-British born AG - born in Persia (now Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

)
|-
| Michael David Thomas
Michael David Thomas
Michael David Thomas , CMG, QC, SC was the penultimate Attorney General of Hong Kong before the Transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997. He served the post from 1983 to 1988, under the Governorship of Sir Edward Youde and Lord Wilson of Tillyorn.Thomas was born to parents Cardigan and...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1983-1988
|
|-
| Jeremy Fell Mathews
Jeremy Fell Mathews
Jeremy Fell Mathews, CMG, JP was the last Attorney General of Hong Kong before 1997, He served the post from 1988 to 1997, under the Governorship of Lord Wilson of Tillyorn and the last Governor Christopher Francis Patten.-References:...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...


| 1988 - 30 June 1997
| last QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 to be AG

List of Secretaries for Justice

! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Office Holder
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Term
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-
| Elsie Leung Oi-sie
Elsie Leung
Elsie Leung Oi-sie, GBM JP, was the Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong from 1997 to 2005, and was a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. She was succeeded by Wong Yan Lung, SC, on 20 October 2005.-Education:...


| 1 July 1997-19 October 2005
| first title holder who was not a QC (or KC) or SC
|-
| Wong Yan-lung
Wong Yan Lung
Wong Yan-lung, SC, JP is the current Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong since 20 October 2005.-Early years:Wong grew up in a small flat in Tai Wong Street East in Wan Chai. He sold ice cream with his father for a monthly income of HK$300-HK$400. Wong graduated from secondary school at Queen's...

, SC
Senior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, typically equivalent to the title "Queen's Counsel" used in Commonwealth Realms...


| 20 October 2005-present
|

See also

  • Attorney General
    Attorney General
    In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

  • Justice minister
    Justice Minister
    A justice ministry is a ministry or other government agency charged with justice. The ministry is often headed by a minister for justice or secretary of justice or secretary for justice; sometimes the head of a department of justice is entitled attorney general.Specific duties may relate to...

  • Minister of Justice (France)
    Minister of Justice (France)
    The Ministry of Justice is controlled by the French Minister of Justice , a top-level cabinet position in the French government. The current Minister of Justice is Michel Mercier...

    , who performs similar functions to his or her Hong Kong
    Hong Kong
    Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

    counterpart
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