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| 律政司 | |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1844; 182 years ago (1844) (as Attorney General's Department) 1 July 1997; 28 years ago (1997-07-01) |
| Headquarters | G/F, Main Wing, 6/F, Main and East Wing, Justice Place, 18Lower Albert Road,Central, Hong Kong 5-7/F, High Block,Queensway Government Offices, 66Queensway,Hong Kong |
| Motto | Rule of Law and Justice for All |
| Employees | 1,512[1] |
| Annual budget | $2.454 billionHKD (2025)[1] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Child agencies |
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| Website | www.doj.gov.hk |
| Department of Justice | |||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 律政司 | ||||||||||||
| CantoneseYale | Leuht jing sī | ||||||||||||
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| Politics andgovernment ofHong Kong |
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Court of Final Appeal
Special courts and tribunals: |
Chief Executive Elections |
Documents Consular missions in Hong Kong
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Related topics Hong Kong portal |
TheDepartment of Justice (DoJ) is the department responsible for legal policy, theadministration of justice, drafting legislation, and providing legal advice to the government inHong Kong. It is headed by theSecretary for Justice, who reports to theChief Executive directly.Paul Lam, abarrister, has served as Secretary for Justice since July 2022.[2]
Before 1997, the names of the department and the position was theLegal Department (律政署) andAttorney General (律政司) respectively. The Department of Justice provides legal advice to other departments in the government system, “drafts government bills, makes prosecution decisions, and promotes the rule of law”.[3]
The department has its roots in the Office of the Attorney General, which was created in 1844 upon the appointment of the first Attorney General of Hong Kong.
The department was established in 1950 as the Legal Department, also known as the Attorney General's Chambers, and was itself the product of a merger between the Attorney General's Office and theCrown Solicitor's Office.
Lawyers working in the government were known as Crown counsel, with the heads of the prosecutions and civil divisions known as the Crown Prosecutor and Crown Solicitor respectively.
In March 2021, after 15 of 47pro-democracy figures were granted bail by a court, the DoJ immediately filed an appeal, sending the 15 people back to their detention cells.[4]
Also, in March 2021,Hong Kong Free Press reported that 3 defendants were acquitted of rioting because they were not physically present at the riot, with the DoJ later complaining to theCourt of Final Appeal that the acquittal was erroneous and that people could still be participants in a crime even if not physically present, such as by using social media and pressing the "like" button.[5]
In April 2021, a spokesman for the DoJ commented on US ambassadorHanscom Smith's criticism of Hong Kong's arrest ofJimmy Lai, claiming that "It is regrettable to note that the convictions have drawn unfair criticisms with political overtones. Any assertion to suggest that 'Beijing [is] eroding Hong Kong's freedoms' is totally baseless."[6]
Separately, in April 2021, the DoJ asserted that in cases involving the national security police, the police would be exempt from laws that cover the search and seizure of journalists' material.[7] In response, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said that the move would make it more difficult for journalists to protect their sources.[7]
Also, in April 2021, after the sentencing of Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy figures drew criticism from overseas politicians, the DoJ released a statement saying that though the government attaches great importance to rights and freedom, those freedoms are not absolute.[8]
In December 2022, the DoJ said criticisms were "far from the truth" when the CEO ofMaxwell Chambers said, "Hong Kong, in particular, was one place where some parties with very long-term contracts avoided putting it as the seat of arbitration, due to uncertainty about the legal environment after Hong Kong returned to China, even with assurances of 50 years of self-government and freedom of speech."[9][10][11]
In August 2023, after the High Court blocked the DoJ from banning the songGlory to Hong Kong, the DoJ appealed and claimed that the Chief Executive should have more power than the courts, for national security matters.[12]
| Division[13] | Head of Division | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Civil Division | Law Officer (Civil Law) | Provides legal advice on civil law to all Government bureaux and departments and represents the Government both as solicitors and as barristers in all civil litigation, including arbitrations |
| Constitutional and Policy Affairs Division | Solicitor General | In charge of legal policy, constitutional development andelections, theBasic Law, human rights, and China law |
| International Law Division | Law Officer (International Law) | Provides advice on public international law to the Government and negotiates, or provides legal advisers on negotiations, for bilateral agreements. Also handles mutual judicial assistance matters. Previously advised on theSino-British Joint Declaration and theJoint Liaison Group.[14] |
| Law Drafting Division | Law Draftsman | Drafting all Government legislation, vettingprivate bills, and maintaining the Hong Kong e-Legislation database |
| National Security Prosecutions Division | Law Officer (National Security) | Prosecution of offences endangering national security and other related legal work. The NS Prosecutions Division budget is drawn from the National Security Special Fund, and not from the DoJ budget.[15] |
| Prosecutions Division | Director of Public Prosecutions | Handles prosecutions and appeals in the majority of criminal cases, and advises the government on criminal law aspects of proposed legislation |
| Administration and Development Division | Director of Administration and Development | Responsible for general administration, personnel and staff management, finance, and training |
The department has fourpolitical appointees, with principal officials in bold:
| Minister | Portrait | Office | Took office |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hon.Paul LamGBS SC JP |  | Secretary for Justice | 1 July 2022 |
| The Hon.Horace CheungSBS JP |  | Deputy Secretary for Justice | 1 July 2022 |
| Denise Hung Hiu-king | Political Assistant to the Secretary for Justice | 1 September 2022 | |
| Nicole Chan Sin Man | Political Assistant to the Deputy Secretary for Justice | 22 July 2022[16] |
The department is headquartered in theformer Central Government Offices, which is aGrade I historic building. Now known as Justice Place, the Justice Department relocated to the premises in phases in 2015 and 2018, as part of a plan to preserve the buildings, which were originally slated for demolition and redevelopment in the early 2010s.
Before the relocation, the department's offices were scattered across theQueensway Government Offices and other buildings.[17]
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