Conviction rates not too high, Law Society finds

Hong Kong's conviction rates - which a top barrister once said approached those in North Korea - 'do not appear to be particularly high' compared to other jurisdictions, the Law Society says. The society gives this conclusion in a submission after gathering statistics from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Malaysia regarding their conviction rates. The barrister, senior counsel Clive Grossman, voiced his concerns last year in the preface to a widely used law book. He wrote that the city's conviction rate was 'probably approaching that of North Korea'. At the time, the chief justice called his comments an 'ill-considered and intemperate outburst' lacking objectivity. According to Department of Justice figures quoted by the society, Hong Kong's conviction rates in 2008, counting both guilty and not- guilty pleas, were 73, 93 and 95 per cent in the magistrates' courts, District Court and Court of First Instance respectively. However, when considering only those cases involving not-guilty pleas, those rates fell to 54, 73 and 79 per cent. By comparison, the rates for Britain and New Zealand in 2008 and Australia's in 2007-08 ranged from 68 to 98 per cent when considering both kinds of pleas, and 66 to 72 per cent for cases with not-guilty pleas, the submission says. Figures in the submission, which was published on June 23, show conviction rates in Hong Kong in cases with not-guilty pleas in the Court of First Instance rose 18 percentage points to 79 per cent from 2004 to 2008. In the District Court, however, the rate rose just six points to 73 per cent during that period. In the magistrates' courts, it fell four points to 54 per cent. Each jurisdiction uses a slightly different calculation method and a direct comparison could not be made. However, the society concludes on the information available that the city's rates are not particularly high. Specifically, it says this is so when compared with jurisdictions that, like Hong Kong, count convictions based on the number of defendants convicted rather than the number of charges. 'We noted that the community seems to be biased against a high conviction rate but we query what should be the standard to start with,' the society writes. Lawyers disagreed. 'A lot of my colleagues would express surprise if they were told that conviction rates in Hong Kong were not high,' solicitor Michael Vidler said. 'Among criminal defence lawyers, both solicitors and barristers, there's a general view that conviction rates are high.' Simon Young, associate professor and director of the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Comparative and Public Law, said that according to the figures in the submission, Hong Kong's rates were still high. 'I would think there should still be room for concern,' he said. A Department of Justice spokesman said the society 'has concluded that there is no reason for concern at the rates in Hong Kong, which are comparable with those in other common-law legal systems. This conclusion reaffirms the view long held by the Department of Justice and shows no more than that Hong Kong's criminal justice process is working well and efficiently in delivering justice to the people of Hong Kong. 'There is no basis for suggesting that the community is concerned at the conviction rates and the Law Society's study shows that any such concern, if it existed, would be misconceived,' the spokesman said. Grossman said he had not read the report and could not comment on it. Suggestions have been raised that jury trials should be introduced in the District Court as a solution to the perceived problem of high conviction rates. In the submission, the society urges the government to consider doing so, but stresses that the recommendation is on the basis that a defendant has a fundamental right to be tried by his peers. The Department of Justice spokesman said the department had reviewed the issue of jury trials in the District Court on a number of occasions and had received no complaints that a fair trial could not be obtained there. However, he said the department had agreed to continue a dialogue with the Bar Association on the issue. In its submission, the society also suggests there should be a uniform way of keeping statistics on convictions for future analysis. The authorities, including the judiciary, should collect additional data with reference to the practice in Australia and New Zealand for future analysis, it says. The government should get advice on setting up a fair and transparent system and commission an independent organisation to verify conviction figures. A judiciary spokesman said the department had received a letter from the clerk of the Legislative Council panel on administration of justice and legal services. The panel was soliciting the judiciary's views on the society's suggestion that relevant bodies should work out a uniform system of compiling conviction statistics to give a real picture of the city's position for future analysis. The judiciary was considering the matter and would respond to the panel once it had decided a position, the spokesman said.