Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Hong Kong Case Law

Attorney general discretion

  • 19 Oct 1990

    THE QUEEN v. EDWARD CHRISTOPHER HARRIS

    Citation
    THE QUEEN v. EDWARD CHRISTOPHER HARRIS
    Court
    Court of Appeal
    Case number
    CACC72/1990

    The Court held that although the Attorney General's initial decision not to prosecute was solemn and ought not to be lightly resiled from, his later decision to prosecute was not unlawful; courts have a residual power to stay prosecutions for abuse of process but must exercise it with extreme circumspection and the facts here did not amount to abuse warranting refusal of jurisdiction; the trial judge's findings on intent and credibility were open on the evidence (including taped conversations) and the conviction and sentence were upheld; the Crown's case stated appeal against the acquittals f…

  • 7 Nov 1977

    CLIFFORD WONG CHUN-FAI v. ATTORNEY GENERAL

    Citation
    CLIFFORD WONG CHUN-FAI v. ATTORNEY GENERAL
    Court
    Court of Appeal
    Case number
    CACV43/1977

    The combined statutory scheme of the Magistrates' Ordinance (ss.88-90) and the District Court Ordinance (including s.6 and s.75) manifested the Legislature's clear intent to make transfer to the District Court mandatory on the Attorney General's application for indictable offences, thereby removing the common law right to trial by jury in respect of offences so transferred; the Attorney General's exercise of that statutory discretion was not shown to be unlawful or tainted by improper motive and certiorari was therefore not available to quash transfers of the indictable charges, though the er…