| The Department of Justice (DoJ) is committed to the effective implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle. To pursue this objective, the DoJ has taken steps to develop mutual legal assistance between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and to foster exchanges between the legal personnel of both sides. This web page will provide information on matters concerning mutual legal assistance between the Mainland and the HKSAR as well as the various projects undertaken by the DoJ to promote greater understanding of the respective legal system of the other side.
We also include certain links that will lead you to other web pages where useful materials may be found about the Mainland and its legal system and hope that they are useful references.
Mutual Legal
Assistance
After Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region(HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997, arrangements have been reached with Mainland authorities on matters relating to mutual assistance on legal matters between Hong Kong and the Mainland. They are:
- Arrangement
for Mutual Service of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Proceedings between
the Mainland and Hong Kong Courts
- Arrangement
Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Between the Mainland and the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Enforcement of Hong Kong Arbitral Awards in the Mainland
- Arrangement
on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial
Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region Pursuant to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned ("the
Arrangement")
Key Features of the Arrangement
Judicial
interpretation promulgated by the Supreme People's Court on the Arrangement
Cooperation
with Mainland Justice Bureaux and Departments
The DoJ has also entered into Legal Services Co-operation Agreements with the following Justice Departments/Bureaux to foster cooperation on legal matters -  Qingdao
(in September 2002);- Chongqing
(in December 2002);
- Beijing
(in October 2003);
- Nanjing
(in December 2003);
- Shanghai
(in December 2003);
- Zhejiang
(in January 2004); and
- Shenzhen
(in June 2004)
On 13 December 2005, the DoJ signed a Memorandum of Understanding
on Co-operation of Legal Services with theMinistry
of Justice (MoJ) to follow-up on the implementation
of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and to promote closer cooperation between the legal services sector of
Hong Kong and the Mainland.
Pursuant to the above-mentioned Memorandum and cooperation agreements, the DoJ and the relevant parties would exchange information on the legal system and legal professions. The DoJ and the Justice Departments/Bureaux concerned would also provide training opportunities to relevant officials to enhance mutual understanding of the legal system and practices of the other side. The cooperation agreements also provide channels whereby technical and procedural problems arising from the implementation of CEPA in the relevant provinces or municipalities could be addressed.
Cooperation with other Mainland Organs
In October 2010, the Co-operation Arrangement on Legal Services for Commercial Matters and Arbitration was signed between the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the DoJ. The parties to the Arrangement agreed to enhance cooperation on legal and arbitration services of the following areas :
- fostering exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and Mainland legal services and arbitration bodies
- strengthening exchange of information and collaboration in organising conferences on legal services and related activities
- facilitating training in commercial and arbitration law so to encourage better risk management by enterprises and effective use of dispute resolution mechanisms for commercial matters
- promoting co-operation and exchanges between legal departments under the CPPIT and related bodies in Hong Kong in arbitration and mediation, etc.
In November 2011, the DoJ and the Shenzhen Municipal Government signed a “Co-operative Arrangement on Legal matters” to provide a new platform and exchange mechanism for further co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in the following areas:
- communication of major legal issues relevant to the other side
- providing legal information and reference materials to the other side which may be of relevance to its law making process
- timely communication on and exchange of legal issues relating to Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperative projects
- mutual exchange and visits, as well as providing training opportunities to officials of the other side
Exchanges
between legal personnel of the Mainland and Hong Kong
A. The Hong Kong Legal Services Forum, “Hong Kong Legal Services - Global Vision"
On 6 July 2010, the DoJ organised a thematic Forum entitled “Hong Kong Legal Services - Global Vision" in Shanghai in collaboration with the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the International Court of Arbitration of International Chamber of Commerce. The Forum was held as part of Hong Kong’s efforts to promote professional services of Hong Kong during the World Expo 2010.
The Secretary for Justice officiated the opening of the Forum, which was attended by senior officials in the Mainland, including Mr Zhao Dacheng, Vice Minister of the MoJ.
SJ’s speech at the Forum
Other speakers included prominent lawyers and arbitrators from Hong Kong who were highly experienced in international trade, intellectual property, corporate finance and corporate governance as well as in dispute resolution matters, The Forum was very well attended with the presence of over 500 legal practitioners and representatives of enterprises in the Mainland and has been well-received by the audience.
Details of the Forum, can be found on the webpage of “The Hong Kong Legal Services Forum”.
B. Symposium
on the litigation systems in the Mainland and Hong Kong
As part of the DoJ’s initiatives to introduce the legal system in Hong Kong to Mainland legal officials, practitioners and law students, symposia focusing on conducting litigation in Hong Kong had been held in different cities in the Mainland. Each symposium would usually comprise a mock trial to demonstrate common law litigation highlighting our adversarial system, and then followed by a seminar at which participants from both sides may discuss issues relating to litigation and the justice system.
Five such symposia have been held in the past -
The first symposium was held at the Peking University in January 1999, and co-organised with the Advocacy Institute of Hong Kong, Peking University.
Symposium
in Beijing (1999)
The second symposium was held in Guangzhou in May 2000 and co-organised with Zhongshan University.
Symposium
in Guangzhou (2000) At the invitation of the Shenzhen Judges Association, a similar symposium was conducted in Shenzhen in May 2001, shortly followed by the fourth symposium in Shanghai in June 2001.
Symposium
in Shanghai (2001) The fifth one was held in Chongqing in December 2002.
Symposium
in Chongqing(2002) Video
Clips of "Mock Trial in Chongqing (2002)"[format: wmv size: 27.6MB][summary
of facts]
The holding of these symposia was well received by local legal officials, practitioners, academics and law students of the municipalities concerned who were particularly interested in the mock trial which demonstrated the essence of proving a case (whether civil or criminal) in a common law court.
C. Exchanges
between legal personnel of the Mainland and Hong Kong
Other than holding conferences and seminars in the Mainland, the DoJ would arrange legal personnel from the Mainland to undertake training in Hong Kong to familiarize themselves with the common law system. The programmes held included -
1. common
law training; and
2. short term attachment programme.
The details of these programmes can be found in the following webpage:-
"Training
in Common Law for Mainland Legal Officials".
3. Mutual
visits and exchange activities
Mutual visits between officials of the DoJ and the Mainland authorities take place regularly for the purpose of keeping abreast of the legal development of the other side and fostering greater co-operation between the legal officials and professions of both sides.
Speech of the Secretary for Justice at the “9th China Lawyers’ Forum” held in Qingdao on 18 October 2011 (in Chinese only)
CEPA
The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between the Mainland and HKSAR was signed on 29 June 2003. The details of the Arrangement were supplemented every year since then, and the most recent Supplement (VIII) was signed in December 2011. Various liberalization measures for the legal services sector have been made to enable the legal profession of Hong Kong to have easier access to the Mainland legal services market. Details of these measures can be found on the WTO and the Legal Profession
webpage
Related Links
This
part of the web page provides a collection of links to Mainland
web sites which may be of interest to readers wishing to further explore issues relating to Mainland laws. The majority of the links are available in Chinese only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the English translations which are for reference and identification only. The links from this website are to sites over which the Department of Justice exercises no control, and the Department therefore assumes no responsibility for the contents of these sites.
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