Relevant sectors in Hong Kong can make contributions to the development of legal framework which align with international standard and uphold the rule of law in regions under BRI and GBA. With its rich experience in training, the legal and dispute resolution services sector contributes to the development of Hong Kong as the capacity building centre for BRI and GBA.

The Department has been proactively organising and supporting a number of training and capacity-building programmes to strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a regional and international centre for legal and dispute resolution services.

In addition to capacity building programs and events responding to specific needs at particular times, we often organise and support training courses on a regular basis, such as co-organising the biennial UNCITRAL Asia-Pacific Judicial Summit with UNCITRAL, supporting the Asian Academy of International Law (“AAIL”) to undertake part of the “China-Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization Exchange and Research Program on International Law”, co-organising the Investment Law and Investor-State Mediator Training Course in Asia with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes under the World Bank Group and the AAIL. We will also organise international law programs regularly with the Hague Academy of International Law and AAIL starting from 2020. We will continue to look for collaboration with reputable international organisations and professional bodies to advance our capacity building initiatives.

Furthermore, in order to foster the developments of the legal professions, the legal and dispute resolution services sector from Hong Kong has launched commercial, trade, financial, and other exchanges, with counterparts under BRI and GBA. For example, a memorandum of co-operation was signed on 30 July 2021 among the Department, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) and the Ministry of Commerce to set up a regular communication platform to facilitate communication between Mainland enterprises and the Hong Kong legal profession. We have also concluded a framework arrangement for legal exchange and mutual learning with the High People’s Court of the Guangdong Province, under which a series of activities involving judges, legal officials and legal practitioners from the GBA have been undertaken. Arrangements have also been made with the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People Procuratorate and the Ministry of Justice to strengthen co-operation and exchanges of legal and dispute resolution services between the Mainland and Hong Kong. The Department continues to proactively liaise and consult with a view to establishing an exchange platform for the legal and business sectors in Hong Kong, the Mainland and other jurisdictions, which will facilitate commercial, trade, financial and other exchanges.

For a list of past and future events relevant to the above, please refer to https://www.legalhub.gov.hk/events.php.