ENG-1998 — Page 68

THE LEGAL SYSTEM

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All government departments requiring legal advice receive it from the Secretary for Justice. She is the representative of the government of the HKSAR in all actions brought by, or against, it. She is also responsible for the drafting of all government legislation.

The Secretary for Justice is responsible for all prosecutions in the HKSAR. It is her responsibility to decide whether a prosecution should be instituted in any particular case, and, if so, to institute and conduct the prosecution.

اليه

The Secretary for Justice chairs the Legal Affairs Policy Group, one of several policy bodies established under the umbrella of the Chief Secretary for Administration's Committee, to bring together bureau secretaries in related programme areas. The group plays an important co-ordinating role in legal policy matters, decision-making and allocation of responsibility for legislative initiatives which have a substantial legal policy content. Often, the group will call upon the Secretary for Justice to take responsibility, as sponsor and spokesperson, for legislative proposals to be submitted to the Executive and Legislative Councils.

The Department of Justice consists of the Secretary for Justice's Office and six divisions, five of which are each headed by a Law Officer to whom the Secretary for Justice delegates certain powers and responsibilities. The remaining division, headed by the Director of Administration and Development, handles departmental administration, media and public relations. The Secretary for Justice's Office provides legal and administrative support to the Secretary for Justice in respect of her many functions.

The Civil Division, headed by the Law Officer (Civil Law), provides legal advice to the government on civil law, drafts commercial contracts and franchises and conducts civil litigation, arbitration and mediation, on behalf of the government.

The International Law Division, headed by the Law Officer (International Law), advises the government on issues relating to public international law. Lawyers in this division also participate in negotiation of bilateral agreements with other countries and handle requests to and from the HKSAR for international legal co-operation. The Law Drafting Division, headed by the Law Draftsman, is responsible for drafting all legislation, including subsidiary legislation, in Chinese and English, and assists in steering legislation through the Executive and Legislative Councils.

The Solicitor General heads the Legal Policy Division, which includes the Law Reform Commission Secretariat. The division provides legal input on a wide variety of topics being considered by the government, and also advises on issues affecting the administration of justice, human rights, constitutional law, electoral law, China law and the Basic Law.

The Prosecutions Division is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Counsel from this division conduct prosecutions in the majority of trials in the Court of First Instance and the District Court, and often appear before magistrates when an important point of law is involved. The division also provides legal advice to the police and other government departments responsible for prosecuting offences.

In order to enhance civil servants' understanding of the Basic Law, the Civil Service Training and Development Institute has been organising regular seminars on the subject since 1995. The Department of Justice has contributed to these seminars by