The rule against double jeopardy prevents a person who has been tried for an offence from being tried again for the same offence. The rule makes no allowance for the situation where, for example, compelling new DNA evidence which points to a person's guilt comes to light after the person has been acquitted of the offence. In some other jurisdictions, the law has been changed to allow prosecutors to apply to have an acquittal quashed and a person retried in certain specified circumstances.

In the light of these developments, the subject of double jeopardy was referred to the Law Reform Commission for consideration, in May 2006, a sub-committee was formed. The members of the Double Jeopardy Sub-committee are:

Mr Paul W T Shieh, SC, Barrister (Chairman)

Mr Derek Chan, Barrister

Mr Cheng Se-lim, Deputy Regional Commander (Kln W), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr David Leung, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Department of Justice

Mr Gerard McCoy, SBS, SC, QC, Barrister

Mr Christopher Morley, Solicitor, Haldanes

Mr Tsui Pui, Chief Government Chemist, Forensic Science Division, Government Laboratory

Mr Simon Young, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong

The Sub-committee's Secretary is Mr Byron Leung, Senior Government Counsel.