The Legal Department headed by the Attorney General, was the department responsible for the laws of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 until 1997, when Hong Kong ceased to be a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 crown colony

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

.

The department was responsible for dealing with criminal cases and cases on behalf of the Government of Hong Kong. Since 1997, the names of the department and the position has been renamed the Department of Justice

Department of Justice (Hong Kong)

The Department of Justice is the department responsible for the laws of Hong Kong headed by the Secretary for Justice. Before 1997, the names of the department and the position was the Legal Department and Attorney General respectively....

 and Secretary for Justice

Secretary for Justice

The Secretary for Justice is a member of the Hong Kong Government responsible for prosecutions and legal matters. He or she heads the Department of Justice....

 respectively.

Organization

The Attorney General's Office consisted of:

• Prosecutions Division (Hong Kong)
  Prosecutions Division (Hong Kong)
  The Prosecutions Division of the Department of Justice, is the public prosecution office in Hong Kong. The Prosecutions Division is the largest in the Department, with about 125 lawyers, known as 'Public Prosecutors', and about 115 lay prosecutors, known as 'Court Prosecutors'...
  
  - the prosecution in the majority of Court of Appeals Instance and District Court

• Civil Division - headed by the Law Officer (Civil Law), provides legal advice on civil law to all Government bureaux and departments and represents the Government both as solicitors and as barristers in all civil litigation, including arbitrations

• Legal Policy Division - is responsible for drafting all Government legislation

• Law Drafting Division - servicing the needs of the Solicitor General, and giving legal policy advice in respect of matters currently being considered by the Government

• International Law Division - is headed by the Law Officer (International Law) and provides advice on public international law to the Government and negotiates, or provides legal advisers on negotiations, for bilateral agreements

• Administration and Development Division - is headed by the Director of Administration and Development