Take ‘public interest’ into account on whether to bring cases to court, instead of just sufficient evidence, head of Hong Kong Bar Association says in speech

The head of one of Hong Kong’s top legal bodies has called for “public interest” to be taken into account when prosecutors decide whether to bring a case to court, instead of doing so based just on sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

Philip Dykes SC, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, said it would be an “incorrect understanding” of the rule of law otherwise.

He was speaking at the opening of the legal year in City Hall in Central on Monday, and referred to the anti-government protests now into their eighth month. So far police have arrested about 7,000 people. Among protesters’ demands are amnesty for those detained.

Dykes did not touch on this in his speech, but stressed he was not trying to influence any decision made by the justice secretary which, under the Basic Law – the city’s mini-constitution – should be “free from any interference”.

“However, the Prosecution Code published by the Department of Justice reminds us that a decision to prosecute is not made just because police have enough evidence to go to court and secure a conviction,” Dykes added.

“Public interest plays a part in the decision-making process too, so that individuals or some classes of cases will not end up in court, even though there is a strong case against them.”