Elsie Leung

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix =
name = pagename
honorific-suffix = GBM, JP


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small

caption =
order = 1st
office = Secretary for Justice
term_start = 1 July 1997
term_end = 20 October 2005
succeeding =
predecessor =
successor = Wong Yan Lung
constituency =
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birth_date = 1939
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = Hong Kong
party = Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
spouse =
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residence = Hong Kong
alma_mater = University of Hong Kong
occupation =
profession = Solicitor
religion =


website =
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Elsie Leung Oi Sie GBM JP (zh-t|t=梁愛詩, born 1939 in Hong Kong with family root in Nanhai, Guangdong) was the Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from 1997 to 2005, and was a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. She was succeeded by Wong Yan Lung, SC on 20 October 2005.

Biography

Education

Leung was educated in Hong Kong, at St. Clare's Girls' School and the University of Hong Kong. Leung passed her Law Society Qualifying Examinations in 1967 and obtained her LLM degree from the University of Hong Kong in 1988. She is a past President of the International Federation of Women Lawyers.

Legal career

Elsie Leung qualified as a solicitor and started practice in 1968. She was a partner of local law firm P. H. Sin & Co. and Iu, Lai & Li Solictors (姚黎李律師行), specialising in divorce cases. She served on various government boards and committees, including the Independent Police Complaints Council, Equal Opportunities Commission, Social Welfare Advisory Committee and Inland Revenue Board of Review. She was also honorary legal adviser to many non-governmental organisations.

Political career

Leung was a founding member of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong ("DAB"). She was appointed as a Delegate of the People's Congress of Guangdong Province in 1989. In 1993, she was appointed as a Delegate of the 8th National People's Congress as well as a Hong Kong Affairs Adviser. In the period leading up to the handover, Leung advised the Chief Executive Designate of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on legal matters relating to the establishment of the HKSAR.

ecretary for Justice

On 1 July 1997, Leung became the first Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. She was the Chief Executive's chief legal adviser and an ex-officio member of the Executive Council. She headed the Department of Justice which has a staff of over 1,000, of whom about 290 are lawyers.

She is currently the Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, the Committee on Bilingual Legal System, the Legal Practitioners' Liaison Committee and serves on numerous committees, including the Fight Crime Committee and the Operations Review Committee of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Leung was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal in July 2002 for her "distinguished public service", and for her "significant contributions in ensuring the successful implementation of the new constitutional order under the One country, two systems concept". She retired from office in October 2005.

Controversies

Leung was involved in controversy in 1999 when she refused to prosecute Sally Aw over the circulation fraud at "The Standard". The Hong Kong Bar Association accused her of being "careless" in her handling of the case for failing to ensure that justice was seen to be done. [cite web|url= http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=46504&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=19990306&sear_year=1999
title= Bar takes swipe at Justice Secretary
author= Cliff Buddle
publisher = The Standard
date= 6 March 1999
accessdate= 2008-07-28] The Democratic Party and the Liberal Party [cite web|url= http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=45911&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=19990207&sear_year=1999
title= Clamour grows for Leung to resign
author= Cheung Chi-fai
publisher = The Standard
date= 7 February 1999
accessdate= 2008-07-28] backed legal-sector legislator Margaret Ng's motion of no-confidence. However, during the Legco vote, the Liberal Party objected to government lobbying. It accused the Tung administration of applying "back door" pressure on them to support Leung. The Liberals abstained in the vote, and party deputy chairman Ronald Arculli staged a walk-out. [cite web|url= http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=46740&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=19990317&sear_year=1999
title= Liberal leader aghast at way Tung's team solicited votes
author= Chris Yeung
publisher = The Standard
date= 17 March 1999
accessdate= 2008-07-28]

The Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor supported calls for Leung to resign after her apparent bias in several mainland China-related cases, in addition to her non-prosecution of Sally Aw. The incidents listed by the group include:

*Non-prosecution of the Xinhua News Agency for breach of the Data Protection (Privacy) Ordinance;

*Failure to press for the rendition of the notorious criminal Cheung Tze-keung and the accused killer of Telford Garden's multiple murders;

*Pressuring the Court of Final Appeal to clarify its judgement on the right of abode issue; and

* Leung's private approach to Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang before the application of clarification on judgment. [cite web|url= http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=46522&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=19990308&sear_year=1999
title= Rights call to remove Leung
author= Mandy Luk
publisher = The Standard
date= 8 March 1999
accessdate= 2008-07-28]

References

External links

* [http://www.usasiainstitute.org/programs/Elsie_Leung.php US-Asia Institute: The Honorable Elsie Leung]