Hong Kong, 22 May 2017: Boase Cohen & Collins Senior Partner Colin Cohen was among some 120 legal professionals who gathered to debate key issues affecting Hong Kong’s criminal justice system.
The 2017 Criminal Law Conference, hosted by the Department of Justice at its headquarters in Central, brought together members of the Judiciary, criminal law practitioners and academics for a full day of speeches and discussions.
Delegates reviewed four key topics – active case management; protection to the vulnerable in court; joint enterprise law in Hong Kong; and development of sentencing practice.
“This was the fourth edition of the conference and, as expected, it proved to be a hugely worthwhile and compelling exercise,” said Mr Cohen. “Since criminal law is one of our key practice areas, it is essential that we attend events such as this to stay firmly up to date on developments in the criminal justice system.
“It was particularly interesting that joint enterprise law was on the agenda, given that this was the topic of our inaugural Boase Cohen & Collins Criminal Law Lecture, delivered by Clare Montgomery QC, at the University of Hong Kong four months ago. It continues to be a subject which stirs debate and divides opinion.”
Last December, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal gave a landmark ruling on joint enterprise – the three-decade-old legal principle that allows someone to be convicted of murder even if they do not strike the fatal blow – and in so doing distanced itself from the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court and Privy Council.
Saturday’s Criminal Law Conference was attended by the Secretary for Justice, Rimsky Yuen, who gave the opening address, while Director of Public Prosecutions Keith Yeung delivered the closing remarks.
The event featured two guest speakers from overseas – the Honourable Justice William Young of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and Professor David Ormerod, the Law Commissioner for Criminal Law and Evidence, England and Wales.
The conference was jointly organised by the Prosecutions Division of the Department of Justice, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong.