Ex-prosecutor Kevin Zervos appointed to High Court

Recently retired director of public prosecutions Kevin Zervos has been appointed as a High Court judge, the judiciary announced yesterday.

Zervos, 60, who stepped down as the head of prosecutions last week, will officially join the bench on Monday as a Court of First Instance judge. The appointment was made by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, the judiciary said.

As a former DPP, Zervos will go through a "cooling-off period" of six months, keeping out of criminal trials or appeals or any civil cases involving the government. Zervos said he would not comment on the appointment, given that his new role was very different from that of a DPP.

But when asked last month about rumours that he would be appointed as a judge, he said: "I would be greatly honoured."

The judiciary would not comment on the nature of the cases to which Zervos would be assigned after his cooling-off period. It is understood he will sit in Court 15 on the seventh floor of the High Court building in Admiralty.

A person familiar with the situation said Zervos had not been told about the nature of the cases he would be dealing with.