66
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
It is the Attorney General who is responsible for all prosecutions in Hong Kong, and it is for him alone to decide whether or not a prosecution should be instituted in any particular case and it is his responsibility to conduct and control the action. In this respect, the Court of Appeal in Hong Kong held in 1979 that the powers and responsibilities of the Attorney General in Hong Kong were mutatis mutandis, the same as those of the Attorney General in England.
The vast majority of minor prosecutions heard before magistrates are routine matters which are dealt with by law enforcement departments along settled guidelines issued under the authority of the Attorney General and without individual reference to the Attorney General's Chambers. Where such cases are complicated matters, or give rise to difficult points of law, then advice is sought from the Prosecutions Division and counsel from that division may conduct the subsequent prosecution. The advice of the Attorney General's Chambers must be sought in the case of serious offences where the venue of trial will be the District Court or the Supreme Court.
Legal Aid
=
For many years a comprehensive system of legal aid has been available in Hong Kong in both civil and criminal cases, to ensure that justice is made available to as many as possible of those who are unable to bear the cost of protecting their lawful rights or their freedom. Hong Kong's legal aid system is administered by the Legal Aid Department and provides legal representation in proceedings in the civil and criminal courts, while the Law Society Legal Advice and Duty Lawyer Schemes provide free legal advice in mainly civil matters, and in the Magistrates' Courts and Juvenile Courts provide free legal representation in certain criminal cases.
Legal Aid Department
The Legal Aid Department is a department of the Hong Kong Government which finances the legal aid scheme and provides funds for the cost of the civil and criminal litigation conducted on behalf of those granted legal aid. The total estimated expenditure for 1984–5 was $16.3 million for civil cases and $21.6 million for criminal cases.
In 1984, a total of 13 194 applications were received for legal aid in civil matters, 4 435 applications being made to the headquarters, and 8 759 to the Kowloon branch office. Of these, a total of 4 224 were granted legal aid.
In order to qualify for legal aid in civil cases, the applicant has to satisfy both a 'means' test and a 'merits' test. The present financial limits for the means test is a disposable income not exceeding $1,500 per month and disposable capital not exceeding $15,000. Disposable income is assessed by deducting from gross income a personal allowance for the applicant and each dependent family member, and the amount paid by him in rent and/or rates. Disposable capital is the applicant's total assets, whether in money or property, less personal allowances and the first $300,000 after deduction of the amount of any out- standing mortgage of the value of his dwelling if he is the owner/occupier.
Legal aid is free to a person whose disposable income does not exceed $750 per month and whose disposable capital does not exceed $5,000. However, if the applicant's income or capital exceeds these figures, then a contribution is payable on a sliding scale up to a maximum of $2,700 in respect of income and $3,750 in respect of capital. The liability of an aided person in an unsuccessful action is limited to his contribution and in a successful action, if the Director of Legal Aid recovers a sum sufficient to cover all his costs from the unsuccessful party, then the contribution is refunded to the aided person.