Keeping busy: Director of Public Prosecutions Grenville Cross speaks at his year-end review.

Criminal cases heard by the Court of Final Appeal have surged 473.7% since the Handover.

In his year-end review today, Director of Public Prosecutions Grenville Cross said since July 1997, the Court of Final Appeal has dealt with 568 criminal cases, compared to the 99 cases that proceeded to the Privy Council during the same period prior to reunification.

Mr Cross said the workload tested the resources of the Prosecutions Division last year. It served 232,081 prosecutions and gave 16,034 items of legal advice, compared to 2003's corresponding figures of 210,055 and 16,820.

"Strict legal criteria were applied in the decision-making process. This meant there had to at least be a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction before suspects were charged," Mr Cross said.

"We acted at all times in accordance with our assessment of what the interests of justice required. An independent judgment was applied to the question of whether or not to prosecute, and just as no-one was treated as being above the law, so, also, and just as importantly, no-one was treated as being beneath the law."

Corruption convictions

Mr Cross said the division prosecuted 494 people for corruption and related offences, and provided 884 items of advice to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. He said the division secured convictions in 83% of corruption cases.

There were 69 serious fraud cases investigated, each involving losses of at least $5 million, and 83 people were prosecuted. Reported losses in serious fraud complaints amounted to $1.485 billion.

Forty people were prosecuted for money laundering and $14.8 million in crime proceeds was confiscated, while $64.8 million was restrained pending court proceedings.

The division prosecuted 474 people for importing, manufacturing or distributing drugs. Another 5,577 people were prosecuted for unlawful possession.

Some 551 people were prosecuted for triad offences, and prosecutors made 29 applications for enhanced sentences.

Mr Cross said a substantial number of cases were briefed out to the private sector, which contributed to the development of a legal profession which is experienced and balanced in its understanding of public prosecutions. Some 31.9% of cases and 56.3% of court days were briefed out to private lawyers.

The 104 court prosecutors in practice have contributed decisively to the smooth administration of magistracies, he said. Of them, 45 held legal qualifications, including eight barristers, 10 Postgraduate Certificates in Law holders and 27 law degree holders, adding that 39 others were holders of degrees in other disciplines and 11 were studying for legal degrees.

Shanghai first

Mr Cross said the Agreement on Legal Services Co-operation between the Department of Justice and the Shanghai Justice Bureau signed in 2003 paved the way in March 2004 for the first-ever visit by a delegation of Hong Kong prosecutors to Shanghai.

In June 2004 they participated in the International Seminar on Criminal Pre-trial Procedure Reforms, organised in Beijing by the China University of Political Science & Law. Ideas were exchanged on the scope and pace of Mainland reform of criminal laws.

Last November, at the Pan-Pearl River Delta Prosecutors-General Conference in Guangzhou, prosecutors discussed with counterparts how best to combat regional crime, and shared a common commitment to effective and improved law enforcement in the Pearl River Delta area.

Throughout the year, the division briefed 13 visiting delegations from the Mainland, and two from Macau on Hong Kong's system of criminal justice.

Criminal justice

On criminal justice initiatives, Mr Cross said the division was pursuing a better criminal justice system and specific measures were advanced to avoid any miscarriages of justice.

He said the division implemented new guidelines for victims of crime and witnesses last year to protect their interests and expanded the vulnerable witness team to 18 dedicated prosecutors.

"This strengthened our capacity to promote the interests of victims and witnesses and also relations," he said.