John Griffiths

Background

Griffiths was born in Persia, now Iran, on 16 January 1931. He is the son of Oswald Hardy Griffiths and Christina Flora Griffiths (née Littlejohn).

Education

He was educated at Saint Peter"s School, York where he was a scholar. He then attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge were he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1955 and a Master of Arts in 1960.

Career

He then did his National Service from 1949 to 1950 and held the rank of Lieutenant. Griffiths was called to the bar of the Middle Temple in 1956. He was appointed a Recorder in 1972, a position he held until 1990.

He was made a Queen"s Counsel in 1972.

Griffiths first came to Hong Kong in 1976 to prosecute the Ma brothers for importing heroin in a triad case which garnered the involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency. Three years later, in 1979, Griffiths was appointed In his capacity as Attorney General, he served on the Hong Kong Executive Council and Legislative Council. He also served as Chairman of the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission.

He served as Attorney General until 1983 and was succeeded by Michael Thomas Queen's Counsel.

After stepping down as Attorney General, Griffiths entered private practice in Hong Kong and England, handling both civil and criminal matters. He retired from practice in 2012.

In 1984 and 1985 he headed an inquiry in England into the membership of the House of Fraser.

He also represented Lucille Fung, wife of retired judge Miles Henry Jackson-Lipkin, but withdrew when her state of mind made discussions with her difficult. Griffiths also acted in the following cases:

Representing a leading firm of developers against the Housing Authority, in relation to the Private Sector Participation Scheme. Representing New World Development Company

Limited to apply for leave for Judicial Review about arguments regarding the proposed listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. advising a leading property firm against the Government about work conditions regarding Times Square. advising the Oriental Daily News in respect of a libel claim. representing a famous Cantonese singer in a claim involving tax

Achievements

• Enderby was awarded the Guthrie Medal of the Institute of Physics, an institution he later served as President. Enderby was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1985 and was Physical Secretary and Vice President of the society from 1999 to 2004. He was President of the Institute of Physics from 2004 to 2006.
  
  Enerby's contributions have been recognised by the award of a CBE in 1997 and a Knighthood for services to Science and Technology in 2004.

Views

In Hong Kong, he defended Chim Pui-Chung in a costly, 131-day-long trial in the late 1990s.

Membership

He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Inns of Court and the Bar from 1973 to 1977 and a member of the Senate between 1984 and 1986.