The DoJ has entered into Legal Services Cooperation Agreements (Cooperation Agreements) with the following Justice Departments/Bureaux to foster cooperation on legal matters -
On 13 December 2004, the DoJ signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Legal Services (Memorandum) with the Ministry 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 Cooperation Agreements and Memorandum, 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 each other's legal system and practices. 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.
On 7 January 2019, the DoJ signed a record of meeting with the MoJ on further enhancement of cooperation in legal services between the two places. Details of the record of meeting can be found here. The cooperation between the DoJ and the MoJ reached another milestone when both parties entered into a framework arrangement concerning legal talent exchanges and training co-operation on 29 July 2021. Under the arrangement, more two-way co-operation channels are to be developed while there will be more opportunities for short-term training and internship for officers of both sides.
In April 2023, the DoJ and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government renewed the "Cooperative Arrangement on Legal Matters" (in Chinese only), with a view to continuing the effective platform and exchange mechanism for cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in the following areas:
Both sides first signed the “Cooperative Arrangement on Legal Matters” in 2011 for a term of 5 years, and renewed it in 2017.
In October 2010, the Cooperation 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:
On 28 July 2021, a record of meeting for enhancing exchanges and co-operation was entered between the DoJ and the Supreme People’s Court, the key features of which include providing practical Mainland legal training courses for Hong Kong legal practitioners who have passed the GBA Legal Professional Examination, rendering support to Hong Kong legal practitioners to join the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People’s Court and serve as specially invited mediators and assessors of people's courts in the Mainland, and promoting and proactively taking forward the work on mutual recognition of and assistance to bankruptcy proceedings. On the same date, another record of meeting was entered between the DoJ and the Supreme People's Procuratorate to strengthen the learning and training for the public prosecutors of both sides, and promote the social development and the rule of law of the two places.
Furthermore, an exchange and co-operation arrangement under the tripartite communication platform jointly held by the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce, the Bureau of Policies, Laws and Regulations of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and the DoJ was entered on 30 July 2021. The platform serves as a communication channel between Mainland enterprises and the Hong Kong legal profession to connect Mainland enterprises with Hong Kong legal experts in various areas, and through regular exchanges of experience and knowledge, optimises the business and investment environments of both places and facilitates the export of Hong Kong's legal services.
On 11 May 2022, a framework arrangement for collaboration was signed between the DoJ and the Chinese Institute of Hong Kong, being authorised by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Under the arrangement, both sides will strive to strengthen, encourage and promote exchanges and co-operation in the area of rule of law research. The Chinese Institute of Hong Kong will also conduct dedicated studies on issues related to the rule of law and the building of a rule of law database with objective data. Under the co-ordination of the DoJ and the Chinese Institute of Hong Kong, the CASS may collaborate with relevant experts in areas such as academic research.
Other than holding conferences and seminars in the Mainland, the DoJ also arranges legal personnel from the Mainland to undertake training in Hong Kong to familiarise themselves with the common law system. The programmes include -
Since 2015, the DoJ has been operating the Summer Attachment Programme for Hong Kong Law Students in the Mainland. Under the programme, DoJ's summer interns, after their local placement, will be attached to relevant legal, executive or judicial organs or other organisations in the Mainland. These include, for example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission etc.
The programme gives an opportunity for Hong Kong law students to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the Mainland legal system, to gain working experience and to broaden their horizons.
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.