Highlights of the Division’s work in 2012, 2013 and 2014

• The coming into full force of the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Ordinance 2010 in June 2012, which enables eligible solicitors to apply for higher rights of audience in the higher courts thereby widening the pool of able advocates.
• The enactment of the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 in July 2012, which introduces limited liability partnership as an additional business model for law firms in the HKSAR.
• The enactment of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance 2012 in July 2012 and the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance 2014 in November 2014, both of which introduce miscellaneous legislative amendments to various ordinances and subsidiary legislation to keep our body of legislation tidy.
• The opening by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) of its CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center in September 2012, its first office outside the Mainland.
• The establishment of a Working Group on Class Actions in December 2012, chaired by the Solicitor General, to follow up on the LRC’s Report on Class Actions published in May 2012.
• The conclusion of the Arrangement Concerning Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards with the Macao SAR in January 2013.
• The enactment of the Arbitration (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 in July 2013, which implements the above arrangement with the Macao SAR and introduces miscellaneous amendments to enhance the arbitration regime in the HKSAR.
• Promoting the HKSAR as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region at forums and events outside the HKSAR, including Beijing, Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong, India, Seoul, London, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.
• Co-hosting the second Hong Kong Legal Services Forum in Guangzhou in September 2012.

  
  HKSAR members of the Chinese delegation addressing questions raised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child during the hearing on the HKSAR’s Second Periodic Report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child in September 2013

• Co-organising a seminar on Hong Kong Legal and Arbitration Services in Xiamen in April 2013.
• Counsel of the Department, as members of the Chinese delegation, attended the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III on Online Dispute Resolution at its 25th to 30th sessions from 2012 to 2014.
• Counsel of the Department, as members of the Chinese delegation, attended the UN hearings on the periodic reports of China (including the HKSAR) under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the periodic report of the HKSAR prepared in the light of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and attended the Universal Periodic Review of China (including the HKSAR) conducted by a Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council from 2012 to 2014.
• The establishment of the Inter-departmental Working Group on Gender Recognition, under the chairmanship of the Secretary for Justice, in January 2014 to follow up on the judgment of the Court of Final Appeal in the case of W v Registrar of Marriages (2013) 16 HKCFAR 112.

• Co-hosting the third Hong Kong Legal Services Forum in Qingdao in September 2014.

  The Secretary for Justice, Mr Rimsky Yuen, SC (centre), and the then Fujian Provincial Department of Justice’s Director-General, Mr Chen Yixing (third right), together with representatives of the participating organisations of the Seminar on Hong Kong Legal and Arbitration Services held in Xiamen in April 2013

  Mock arbitration demonstrated to the participants of the Hong Kong Legal Services Forum held in Qingdao in September 2014
• The opening by the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) of its CMAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center in November 2014, its first office outside the Mainland.
• The enactment of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Ordinance (Cap 623) in November 2014, which reforms one of the aspects of the common law doctrine of privity of contract.

• The establishment of the Advisory Committee on Promotion of Arbitration, under the chairmanship of the Secretary for Justice, in December 2014.

  
  HKSAR members of the Chinese delegation addressing questions raised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child during the hearing on the HKSAR’s Second Periodic Report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child in September 2013