Zervos quietly slips in as top prosecutor

Veteran government lawyer Kevin Zervos has quietly taken on the role of Hong Kong's top prosecutor in a move that is expected to lead to him being appointed director of public prosecutions.

The 57-year-old Australian (pictured), who has been a prosecutor in the city for 19 years, took the helm on Monday, with outgoing DPP Ian McWalters, 59, on pre-retirement leave.

Long considered a front-runner for the job, Zervos is already listed as the Director of Public Prosecutions in the government's online directory. But a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said he was serving in an acting capacity and an announcement on the successor to McWalters would be made 'in due course'. McWalters is tipped to join the judiciary.

The change in DPP - an important and sensitive position as it involves making key decisions on whether criminal cases should be taken to court or not - will be the second in little more than a year. McWalters took over from Grenville Cross, who held the post for 12 years, in October 2009.

Zervos, who had been deputy director of public prosecution, told the Sunday Morning Post that he understood the heavy responsibility which came with the job.

'We must acknowledge the great public responsibility this office imposes on the DPP. One should always be mindful of that and the responsibility we all have in terms of ensuring the rule of law is upheld and enforced,' he said.

'We must be aware that we affect people's lives. We have got to take the job seriously. We have got to make sure we are careful in the decisions we make.'

He has sent out a note to staff reminding them of their responsibilities to the public.

Zervos, who recently obtained a masters degree in human rights law from the University of Hong Kong, said he wanted to show his commitment to human rights.

He joined the government as a counsel in 1992 and became deputy director of public prosecutions in 2008. He is an expert in commercial crime and corruption as well as human rights. Prior to coming to Hong Kong, he was a senior prosecutor in Australia.

Zervos wants to push ahead with policies aimed at ensuring high standards within the prosecutions division. He held meetings last week to put in place a new system of continuing legal education for prosecutors and a scheme that allows young lawyers from outside the Department of Justice to gain experience as prosecutors in the magistrates' courts.

'In order to maintain standards, you must always be looking at improvements. That process will never stop,' he said.

Bar Association chairman Kumar Ramanathan said Zervos was a dedicated prosecutor and that the association strongly supported him.

Zervos, he said, tended to take a more compassionate view of young offenders, allowing some to be bound over.

'He's brought an element of compassion in the manner the department deals with young offenders ... He's obviously a man who cares for the young offenders of Hong Kong,' Ramanathan said.

Andrew Bruce SC said that Zervos was a 'first-rate lawyer and a good advocate'.

Former Bar Association chairman Russell Coleman, who is currently chairman of several of its special committees, said Zervos was very experienced in prosecutions.

'He's keen to ensure prosecutions should be properly performed, which means an appropriate standard but always bearing in mind fairness,' Coleman said. 'Convictions at any price is not the correct approach, and he is very conscious of that.'

Zervos has represented the government in numerous cases including those of Nancy Kissel and Amina Mariam Bokhary.

Kissel is currently facing a retrial for allegedly murdering her husband. Bokhary, a niece of Court of Final Appeal judge Mr Justice Kemal Bokhary, was released earlier this month from jail, where she had been sent after breaching conditions of a probation order handed down to her for slapping a policeman.

Ramanathan said the Bar Association and the Law Society were working on an initiative with the Department of Justice for their members to be provided training as prosecutors at magistrates' courts, and for junior members with less than five years' experience to be provided with two weeks of work as prosecutors with the department.

The initiative would come into effect next month, he said.