Solicitor General of Hong Kong

The Solicitor General of Hong Kong is head of the Legal Policy Division of the Department of Justice (律政司) in Hong Kong. He (to date no woman has held the post) is responsible for the development of legal policy, advising the Secretary for Justice (called the Attorney General before 1997) on legal issues, and overseeing the department's staff and legislative programme.

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Related topics
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Solicitor General of Hong Kong
Traditional Chinese法律政策專員

History

The position of Solicitor General in Hong Kong was created after the end of World War II.[1] The Solicitor General acted as the deputy of the Attorney General and regularly appeared in court.

In 1979, the roles of Law Draftsman, Law Officer (Civil) and Crown Prosecutor (called from the inception of the position Director of Public Prosecutions) were created and the position of Solicitor General was abolished. It was reinstated in 1981 with the Solicitor General being put in charge of legal policy.[2]

The Secretary for Justice is now assisted by five law officers, namely:

  • the Solicitor General who heads the Legal Policy Division,
  • the Director of Public Prosecutions (formerly Crown Prosecutor) who head the Prosecutions Division,
  • the Law Officer (Civil Law) (formerly Crown Solicitor) who heads the Civil Law Division,
  • the Law Officer (International Law) who heads the International Law Division, and
  • the Law Draftsman who heads the Law Drafting Division

Current holder

The current Solicitor General is Wesley Wong Wai-chung, who was appointed in September 2015.

Remuneration for the post, as advertised in 2015, is HK$201,950 (up from HK$162,650 in 2000) per month, together with housing allowance, 'leave passage allowance', and other benefits.[3]

List of Solicitors General Before 1997
No. Office holder Term Notes
1 George E Strickland, QC[4] 1947-1952 Acting Attorney General prior to appointment
2 Arthur Hooton, QC[5] 1952-1961
3 Maurice Heenan, QC[6] 1961 Non-British-born (born in New Zealand). Appointed Attorney General in 1961.
4 Denys Roberts, QC 1962-1966 Appointed Attorney General in 1966. Later Colonial/Chief Secretary and Chief Justice.
5 Graham Sneath, QC[7] 1966-1973
6 John Hobley, QC[8] 12 May - 29 September 1973 Appointed Attorney General in 1973. Retired and left Hong Kong 1979.
7 Garth Thornton[9] 1973-1979 Author of Thornton's Legislative Drafting
None 1979-1981 Position abolished in 1979; reestablished in 1981.[10]
8 Ray Astin[11] 1981-1984 Full name was Ernest Raymond Astin
9 James Findlay, QC[12] 1984-1986 Later became Judge of the High Court.
10 Frank Stock, QC[13] 1987-1991 Became High Court Judge, Vice President of the Court of Appeal and then Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
11 Bertrand de Speville[14][15] 1991-1993 British, born 16 June 1941, (Commissioner of ICAC, 1993-1996)
12 Daniel Richard Fung Wah-kin, QC (馮華健)[16] 1994 - 30 Jun 1997 born c1954. Was appointed from private practice; Returned to private practice as senior counsel

List of Solicitors General After 1997
No. Office Holder Tenure Start Tenure End Length of Tenure Appointed By Prior Role Silk
1 Daniel Richard Fung Wah-kin, SBS, QC, SC, JP 1 July 1997 30 August 1998 1 year and 61 days Elsie Leung Assumed role; was last Solicitor General in British Hong Kong QC (1990)
2 Robert Charles Allcock, SBS 17 August 2000 24 January 2007 6 years and 161 days Acting Solicitor General / Principal Government Counsel
3 Ian George McCurdy Wingfield, GBS 25 January 2007 1 August 2010 3 years and 189 days Wong Yan-lung, SC Law Officer (International Law)
4 Frank Poon Ying-kwong 2 August 2010 2 September 2015 5 years and 32 days Deputy Solicitor General
5 Wesley Wong Wai-chung, SC, JP 3 September 2015 Incumbent 5 years and 150 days Rimsky Yuen, SC Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions SC (2013)

The incumbent Solicitor General is an unofficial Justice of the Peace, and is given the "JP" designation while in office; this designation is removed upon leaving office, unless officially appointed separately.

See also

References
  1. Para 6, Preamble to Paragraph 6 Legal Officers Bill, 1950, [ Legco Debate 22 February 1950
  2. Hansard 22 October 1980, Speech by Peter Wong at p87 and Grenville Cross, "Directors Great and Small", Hong Kong Lawyer July 2011
  3. DOJ advertisement for the post of Solicitor General, June 2000; Advertisement in Hong Kong Lawyer January 2015
  4. R v Lo Sau King and others 1962 HKLR 299 at 307 to 308 and Mr George Strickland Lauded on Appointment as KC, China Mail, October 25, 1951, p1
  5. R v Lo Sau King and others 1962 HKLR 299 at 307 to 308
  6. Who's Who 2001, entry for Heenan
  7. Hong Kong Who's Who, 1970-1973 entry for Sneath
  8. Who's Who 1994 entry for Hobley
  9. http://www.law.tulane.edu/uploadedFiles/Institutes_and_Centers/International_Legislative_Drafting_Institute/ILDI%20Garth%20Thornton%20Dedication%20(2).pdf
  10. Speech By Peter C W Wong in Legco, Hansard 22 October 1980 at p87
  11. Who's Who in Hong Kong 1984 entry for Astin. Full name is Ernest Raymond Astin
  12. Findlay CV at "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Judicial Appointment, 25 June 2009, Hong Kong Government press release
  14. Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), 11 Jul 2000, p1515
  15. Bertrand de Speville, interview (Indonesia)
  16. Appointment to the post of Solicitor General, LC Paper No. CB(2)2359/99-00(03), 20 June 2000
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