Ian Grenville Cross, SBS, QC, SC (江樂士) (born 15 June 1951) was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of Hong Kong, on 15 October 1997, and held this post for 12 years, until 21 October 2009. He was the first DPP to be appointed after the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China on 1 July 1997, and the appointment was regarded as a sign that expatriates still had a role to play in government in the post-colonial period. A career prosecutor, Cross was the seventh holder of the post since its creation in 1979, and the longest serving.
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Cross was educated privately at Culford School (1959–1969), Suffolk, England, where he chaired the Debating Society. In 1973, he graduated in law from the University of Southampton, where, at different times, he chaired both the Conservative and Unionist Association and the Conservative Monday Club. He read for the Bar at the College of Law, Chancery Lane, London EC4 (1973–1974).
Cross was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Middle Temple, of which he was a Blackstone Entrance Exhibitioner (Major), in 1974, and was admitted to the Bar of Hong Kong in 1981.
Cross practised on the South Eastern Circuit of England and Wales from the chambers of Jeffrey Thomas, QC, MP, at 3, Temple Gardens, London, EC4, from 1974 to 1976, and was then retained as an in-house prosecutor by HM Customs and Excise Department for England and Wales, from 1976 to 1978.
Cross joined the Attorney General's Chambers (now the Department of Justice) of Hong Kong as Crown Counsel in 1978.
Cross was the founding chairman of the Charles James Fox Society, of which Group Captain Maurice Fox-Strangways, 9th Earl of Ilchester, a descendant of the statesman, was patron, and the Society, which met annually at the Intrepid Fox public house, in Soho, and at the Fox memorial, in Bloomsbury Square, promoted an awareness of the life and achievements of the Whig leader and foreign secretary.
As DPP, Cross, with the support of Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung, initiated a programme of modernisation, transparency and internationalisation, to promote the 'One country, two systems' formula in the area of public prosecutions. He introduced three strategic reviews, designed to strengthen his Office. He created a new sub-division for appellate advocacy, with a mandate to enhance the standards of prosecution in the appeal courts. He expanded his Office to develop its capacity to prosecute all types of crime, appointed Prosecution Policy Co-ordinators to provide expert advice within their portfolios, and created the Computer Crime Team. He established the Standing Committee on Disclosure, to keep the disclosure arrangements of prosecutors under regular review. He developed close links with victim groups, most notably Against Child Abuse, many of which met directly with prosecutors. He arranged advanced training courses for prosecutors at all levels, and introduced training seminars for private counsel who prosecute on the DPP's fiat. Close ties were also forged with prosecutors in other jurisdictions, and he lectured widely in the Mainland and in the Macao Special Administrative Region.
After taking office, Cross sought to make the work of prosecutors more understandable to the community, and to enhance prosecution techniques. He introduced an annual report (The Yearly Review of the Prosecutions Division), to promote transparency. He published detailed prosecution policy guidelines, to explain all aspects of public prosecutions (The Statement of Prosecution Policy and Practice). He issued tailor-made guidelines on how prosecutors should treat those affected by crime (The Statement on the Treatment of Victims and Witnesses). He produced specific guidance on best practice in the conduct of domestic violence cases (The Policy for Prosecuting Cases involving Domestic Violence). To enhance advocacy standards, he initiated a Criminal Advocacy Manual, as well as a Criminal Appeals Manual. So that prosecutors fully understood the duty of disclosure to the defence of relevant material, the Manual on Disclosure was issued for their reference. Cross also introduced a code identifying the standards required of expert witnesses (The Code of Practice for Expert Witnesses Engaged by the Prosecuting Authority).
The decisions Cross took on particular cases sometimes aroused controversy, often intense, particularly in cases of non-prosecution, and this had certain consequences.
The decisions not to prosecute media tycoon Sally Aw for alleged circulation fraud, financial secretary Antony Leung for alleged misconduct in public office, student Godfrey Nguyen (the son of Cross's predecessor) for alleged possession of dangerous drugs, assistant housing director Poon Kai Tik for alleged theft, legislative councillor James To for alleged misconduct over a constituency office, retired high court judge Michael Wong for alleged misuse of expenses, and bodyguards employed by the family of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe for alleged assaults on journalists, attracted particular criticism in some quarters, including sections of the media and the political establishment. When pressed to explain these and other decisions, Cross responded that "Upholding the rule of law is not about winning popularity contests, but about doing what is right."
By contrast, the cases in which Cross authorised prosecution usually attracted only limited criticism, and were often welcomed. These included the decisions to prosecute legislative councillor Gary Cheng for misconduct in public office, retired high court judge Miles Jackson-Lipkin for social welfare fraud, pop star Nicholas Tse for attempting to pervert the course of public justice, socialite Pamela Pak for tax evasion, politician Chim Pui Chung for cheating, tax chief Agnes Sin for dishonestly obtaining rental allowances, chief property manager Shum Kwok Sher for misconduct in public office, and political activist Leung Kwok Hung for holding an unauthorised assembly.
When it was announced in 2009 that Cross, who did not enjoy security of tenure, was to leave his post prematurely, speculation was rife that untoward influences had played a part, and that vested interests, upset by his decisions on particular cases, had brought pressure to bear. The lack of any obvious successor fuelled the speculation, as did the absence of any clear indication of support from his departmental head, Wong Yan Lung, a political appointee. In response to questions from the South China Morning Post on 9 November 2009, Cross said "Of course, after 12 years, one makes powerful enemies, both within the government and outside, and the real surprise is not that I am going, but that I have managed to survive for so long." He added that the time had come for consideration to be given to the creation of the post of independent DPP, free of superintendence by a political appointee, as in England and Wales, and that the incumbent should have secure tenure. Cross opined that an independent DPP would not be incompatible with the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution.
Prior to his appointment as DPP, Cross served, from 1991 to 1997, as the Deputy DPP of Hong Kong, specialising in appellate advocacy. In that capacity, he prosecuted the last criminal case from Hong Kong to be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (R v Peter Maclennan), in June 1997, and the first criminal case to be heard by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKSAR v Mui Po Chu), in September 1997. He conducted twelve appeals before the Judicial Committee between 1988 and 1997, and after reunification he prosecuted six appeals before the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (and its Appeal Committee), which replaced the Judicial Committee as Hong Kong's ultimate appellate body on 1 July 1997.
In the post of Senior Assistant Crown Prosecutor, Cross headed the Criminal Appeals Unit of the (then) Legal Department of Hong Kong, from 1986 to 1991, and, prior to that, he was a general trial prosecutor in the Department, from 1978 to 1986.
Cross was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990, becoming Senior Counsel in 1997, following the reunification. Aged 38, he was the youngest prosecutor to have taken silk in Hong Kong, a distinction that he retains.
From 1999 to 2010, Cross served as an Official Justice of the Peace (JP).
The Hong Kong Tourism Board appointed Cross as its Hong Kong Convention Ambassador for 2003 to 2005, and again for 2006 to 2007.
Cross has served as Chairman of the Committee on the Evidence of Children in Criminal Proceedings, Chairman of the Committee on Information Technology in Courts, and Chairman of the Committee on Costs in Criminal Proceedings, and he also served on the Law Reform Commission's Sub-committee on Arrest.
Cross was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day Honours List 2010, for, according to the citation, his work for the government and the community, "particularly his valuable contribution to the development of prosecution services in Hong Kong and in raising the profile of the Hong Kong prosecution services in the international arena."
As DPP, Cross promoted contacts with prosecutors in other parts of China, as well as at the global level. On 1 January 2001, he led his Office into organisational membership of the International Association of Prosecutors, as its 75th organisational member. In 2004, he hosted the Association's 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, the theme of which was "Dealing with Drug Offenders." In 2007, he hosted the Association's 12th Annual Conference and General Meeting, the theme of which was "Relations with Others: Accountability, Transparency and Independence." In 2007, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Association, for a 3-year term. On 7 September 2010, at a ceremony in The Hague, he received the Association's Certificate of Merit from the President of the Association, James Hamilton. He is currently serving in the Senate of the Association.
After relinquishing his post as DPP, Cross, who had previously declined a judgeship in the High Court, accepted a series of law-related appointments. On 22 October 2009, he was appointed Special Counsel to the Secretary for Justice, Hong Kong. On 23 April 2010, he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Law, Institute of Procedural Law Research, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing. On 1 September 2010, he was appointed Honorary Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong. On 7 September 2010, he was appointed a Senator of the International Association of Prosecutors. On 28 September 2010, he was appointed Sentencing Editor of Hong Kong Cases (LexisNexis). On 11 February 2011, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. On 26 June 2011, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Senate of the International Association of Prosecutors
Cross is the Co-author of Sentencing in Hong Kong,[1] now in its sixth edition. He is the Sentencing Editor of Archbold Hong Kong.[2] He serves on the Editorial Board of Hong Kong Cases. He was previously General Editor of the Criminal Appeals Bulletin (1986–2009),[3] and Consultant Editor of Hong Kong Law Reports and Digest (1988–2006).
Cross is married to Elaine YL Tsui, PMSM, MCIL, an artist, and previously a Superintendent in the Hong Kong Police Force. He is the eldest son of Lt Col JA Cross (dec'd), formerly of the Intelligence Corps and the XXth (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot, and Mrs D Cross (née Hyde). He is godfather to Beatrix, Sarah and Larry.
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| Preceded by Peter Nguyen |
Director of Public Prosecutions of Hong Kong 1997–2009 |
Succeeded by Ian McWalters |