| 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 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. Your commentsas to how we can improve the content of these pages are welcome.
Mutual Legal
Assistance
After Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997, it commenced discussions with Mainland authorities on matters relating to mutual legal assistance between the two sides. Arrangements have been concluded between the HKSARG and the Mainland authorities to attain this purpose. The texts can be found here.
- Arrangement
for Mutual Service of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Proceedings between
the Mainland and Hong Kong Courts [
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- Arrangement
Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Between the Mainland and the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [
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Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Enforcement of Hong Kong Arbitral Awards in the Mainland [ size=14KB]
- 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") [
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Key Features of the Arrangement
[
size=18KB] Judicial
interpretation promulgated by the Supreme People's Court on the Arrangement
Article
titled "A New Chapter in Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments between the Mainland
and Hong Kong" by Ms. Michelle Tsang, Senior Assistant Solicitor General,
published in the July 2008 Issue of the Hong Kong Lawyer Cooperation
with Mainland Justice Bureaux and Departments As part of the DoJ's efforts in pursuing a successful implementation of Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and fostering systematic co-operation between the legal professions of the Mainland and of Hong Kong, the DoJ has entered into Legal Services Co-operation Agreements with the Justice Departments/Bureaux of seven provinces and municipalities, namely -  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)
The DoJ has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding
on Co-operation of Legal Services with theMinistry
of Justice (MoJ)on 13 December 2005 in order to follow-up on the implementation
of CEPA and to promote closer cooperation between the legal services sector of
Hong Kong and the Mainland,. Pursuant to the Memorandum and various cooperation agreements, the DoJ will exchange information on the legal system and legal profession with the MoJ and the relevant Justice Departments/Bureaux from time to time. The DoJ and the Justice Departments/Bureaux will provide training opportunities to officials of the other side so as to enhance mutual understanding of each other's legal system and practice. The cooperation agreements also provide channels whereby technical and procedural problems arising from the implementation of CEPA in the relevant provinces or municipalities can be discussed and resolved.
Exchanges
between legal personnel of the Mainland and Hong Kong A. Symposium
on the litigation systems in the Mainland and Hong Kong A major initiative to promote mutual understanding between the legal communities of the Mainland and the HKSAR is the organisation of a series of symposium in the Mainland on the respective legal systems of the two jurisdictions. Each symposium comprises two parts. The first part is a mock trial to demonstrate common law litigation highlighting our adversarial system. The second part is a seminar at which participants from both sides may discuss issues relating to litigation and the justice system.
A
total of five symposia have been organised - The first symposium was conducted
at the Peking University in January 1999, co-organised by the Advocacy Institute
of Hong Kong, Peking University and the DoJ. Symposium
in Beijing (1999) [
size=15.8MB] The second symposium took place in Guangzhou in May 2000 with
Zhongshan University as a co-organiser. Symposium
in Guangzhou (2000) [
size=13.4MB] The third symposium was conducted in Shenzhen in May 2001 at
the invitation of the Shenzhen Judges Association. The fourth symposium was held
in Shanghai in June 2001. Symposium
in Shanghai (2001) [
size=13.1MB] The fifth one was held in Chongqing in December 2002. Symposium
in Chongqing(2002) Video
Clip of "Mock Trial in Chongqing(2002)"[format: wmv size: 27.6MB][summary
of facts] The holding of these symposia has been well received by the local legal officials, academics and law students where they were held. In particular, they found the staging of mock trials most interesting as they could witness the conduct of a trial in common law courts.
B. Exchanges
between legal personnel of the Mainland and Hong Kong The DoJ
is committed to promoting exchanges between the legal personnel of both sides
and facilitating training for such personnel. These include - - common
law training; and
- short term attachment programme.
For
details of DoJ's initiatives in providing training opportunities for the Mainland
officials, please refer to "Training
in Common Law for Mainland Legal Officials". - Mutual
visits and exchange activities
Members of the DoJ will pay visits to the relevant Mainland authorities from time to time and actively participate in various types of exchange activities for the purpose of fostering greater co-operation between the legal professions of both sides and promoting the legal services of Hong Kong.
Speech
of Mr. Frank Poon, Acting Deputy Solicitor General in the "7th China Lawyer
Forum" held in Yinchuan, Ning Xia Autonomous Region on 1 September 2007 (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 in October 2004 and thereafter in October 2005, June 2006, June 2007, July 2008 and May 2009. 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 research 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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