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The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Department of Justice (DoJ), Mr Grenville Cross, SC, was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Prosecutors at its general meeting in Hong Kong today (September 19).
This is the first time a prosecutor from Hong Kong has been elected to the executive committee, the managing and administrative body of the International Association of Prosecutors, which consists of not less than 10 and not more than 30 members, who generally represent the regions of the world which contribute members. Mr Cross will represent the region of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and has been elected for a three-year term.
Mr Cross said he was "delighted", and described his election as "a great honour for the prosecutors of Hong Kong". He said it was "a welcome recognition of the status enjoyed at the international level by our prosecution service", and he looked forward to "working closely with senior prosecutors at the highest levels to promote global anti-crime strategies".
The Prosecutions Division of the DoJ joined the International Association of Prosecutors as its 75th organisational member in 2001. Since then, it has played a full part in its work, and applied its standards of professional responsibility through its prosecution guidelines.
The Prosecutions Division has been involved in various International Association of Prosecutors projects, including those to combat corruption, child abuse and technology crime. In addition, it hosted the second Asia and Pacific Regional Conference in Hong Kong in November, 2004.
The International Association of Prosecutors is the first and only world organisation of prosecutors. It was established in 1995 at the United Nations Offices in Vienna. It is committed to developing close co-operation amongst the prosecutors of the world and to promoting high standards of criminal justice. The International Association of Prosecutors includes individual and organisational members from more than 120 countries. The organisational members are drawn from every region of the world, and represent more than 200,000 prosecutors.
The Prosecution Division is hosting the 12th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors in Hong Kong from September 16 to 20.
Ends/Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:53
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