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24 September 2018 / Dr Ping-fat Sze
Issue: 7811 / Categories: Features , Criminal
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International justice: a matter of grave concern

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As part of an occasional series on international justice & the Rule of Law in other jurisdictions, Dr Ping-fat Sze investigates the misuse of prosecutorial discretion in Hong Kong
  • The Rule of Law and the administration of justice in Hong Kong.
  • HKSAR v Khan and plea bargaining.
  • The role of the Department of Justice in criminal prosecutions and the potential for miscarriages of justice.

The Rule of Law and generally, the administration of justice in Hong Kong, have been repeatedly downgraded by international agencies (including the Human Rights Monitor and the World Economic Forum) in recent years especially after the imprisonment of a number of the student leaders involved in the Umbrella Movement which took place in autumn 2014.

The misuse of prosecutorial discretion in this former British colony was first noted in an article published in 2009 (173 JPN 53; see also 181 JPN 111 & 310). For a number of reasons, the judiciary has been reluctant to intervene in the exercise of this discretion by the Department

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