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06 December 2024 / Dr Ping-fat Sze
Issue: 8097 / Categories: Features , Profession , International , Criminal
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Prosecutorial decisions in Hong Kong: Pt 2

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Dr Ping-fat Sze examines the reviewability of prosecutorial decisions, & the effect on access to justice
  • Examines the relevant case law, maintaining that undue weight has been given to a 2003 decision in the Fijian Supreme Court.

In England and Wales, it is settled that, apart from fraud or corruption, a prosecutorial decision is reviewable on the ground that the relevant law was misunderstood or misapplied, or relevant matters were not considered properly, or irrelevant matters were taken into consideration, or the decision was made contrary to the evidence or in disregard of the prosecution policy (see, for example, the ‘Judicial Review of CPS Prosecuting Decisions (Appeals)’, issued by the Crown Prosecution Service).

Despite repeated claims that the English law and practice should be followed in this area, surprisingly, the courts in Hong Kong are indisposed to review prosecutorial decisions unless they were made dishonestly, in bad faith or according to political instruction (see ‘Prosecutorial decisions in Hong Kong: getting it wrong?NLJ,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

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The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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