Grenville Cross
Ian Grenville Cross, SBS, JP, QC, SC is a British barrister who was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions of Hong Kong on 15 October 1997, and held this post for over 12 years, until 21 October 2009. He was the first DPP to be appointed after the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong on 1 July 1997, and the appointment signalled that suitably qualified expatriates who were committed to Hong Kong still had a role to play in government in the post-colonial era. A career prosecutor, Cross was the seventh holder of the post since its creation in 1979, and the longest serving. On 26 June 2011, he was elected the Vice-Chairman of the International Association of Prosecutors, of which he is a Senator-for-Life.
Education and early career
Ian Grenville Cross was the eldest son of Lt Col JA Cross, formerly of the Intelligence Corps, the Lancashire Fusiliers and the Suffolk Regiment, and his late wife, Doreen. He was educated privately at Culford School, 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.Cross was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1974 by the Middle Temple, of which he was a Blackstone Entrance Exhibitioner, and was admitted in 1981 to the Bar of Hong Kong. He practised on the South Eastern Circuit of England and Wales, from the chambers of Jeffrey Thomas, QC, MP, at No. 3 Temple Gardens, London, EC4, from 1974 to 1976. He was then appointed an in-house prosecutor by HM Customs and Excise Department for England and Wales, from 1976 to 1978. He joined the Attorney General's Chambers 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. The Society met annually at the Intrepid Fox public house, in Soho, and at the Fox memorial, in Bloomsbury Square, on the anniversary of his death, for remembrance. The Society promoted an awareness of the life and achievements of the erstwhile Whig leader and foreign secretary.
Career in public prosecutions
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 Hong Kong 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.Cross 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 Mainland China and Macao.
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, in June 1997, and the first criminal case to be heard by the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong, in September 1997. He conducted twelve appeals before the Judicial Committee between 1988 and 1997, and, after the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, he prosecuted six appeals before the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, which replaced the Judicial Committee as Hong Kong's ultimate appellate body on 1 July 1997.
As a Senior Assistant Crown Prosecutor, Cross headed the Criminal Appeals Unit of the then Legal Department of Hong Kong, from 1986 to 1991. Prior to that, he was, from 1978 to 1986, a general prosecutor in the department, conducting criminal trials in the High Court, District Court and Magistrates Court.
Cross was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990, becoming Senior Counsel in 1997, following the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong. 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. The Hong Kong Tourism Board appointed Cross as its Hong Kong Convention Ambassador for 2003 to 2005, and again for 2006–07.
Cross was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day Honours List 2010. According to the citation, the award was in recognition of 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".
International work
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: Transparency, Accountability 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.Later appointments
After relinquishing his post as DPP, Cross, who had previously declined a judgeship in the High Court, accepted a series of appointments, mostly law-related.On 22 October 2009, he was appointed Special Counsel to the Secretary for Justice.
On 23 April 2010, he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Law, Institute of Procedural Law Research, China University of Political Science and Law.
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-for-Life of the International Association of Prosecutors.
On 28 September 2010, he was appointed Sentencing Editor of Hong Kong Cases.
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 International Association of Prosecutors.
On 26 April 2013, he was appointed by the International Association of Prosecutors to chair its Standing Committee on Prosecutors in Difficulty.
On 1 November 2013, he was appointed Honorary Consultant to the Child Protection Institute, by Against Child Abuse.
On 26 October 2016, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Law, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
On 3 April 2018, he was appointed Leave Means Leave Ambassador, Hong Kong & Macao.
On 20 November 2018, he was appointed Patron of Against Child Abuse.