HK to build international legal hub by capitalizing on rule of law

The Department of Justice (DoJ) organized three legal conferences on three consecutive days from May 26-28. Each of the conferences had its own theme, which were “Vision 2030 for Rule of Law”, for the international law symposium; “Stability to Prosperity”, for the legal conference on the Basic Law; and “Thrive with the Security”, for the National Security Law forum. 

The themes of the conferences were interlinked, and reflected the deep thinking of the SAR government regarding its role of being a center for international legal and dispute resolution services. This endeavor was of great significance for Hong Kong’s legal profession, which can hopefully capitalize on the strengths in the city’s robust rule of law and open a new chapter in legal services.

Thrive with security

Security brings prosperity, society thrives with security. President Xi Jinping emphasized that security is a prerequisite for development, whereas development is a guarantee for security. Without security and stability, no discussion can be started. Anyone who witnessed the violent criminal activities during the anti-extradition-bill movement in 2019 should be able to appreciate the insight revealed by this statement and cherish the peace and order restored after the promulgation of the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong and the implementation of a revamped electoral system.

The implementation of the NSL has had an immediate effect in reversing the chaotic situation in Hong Kong, as well as restoring social stability. It also marks the beginning of Hong Kong’s transition from chaos to order and has laid a solid constitutional and legal cornerstone for the next 25 years of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Several government officials coincidentally mentioned the concept of taking a holistic approach toward national security in their speeches at the aforesaid conferences. The implementation of the NSL has provided Hong Kong with the context that national security should be treated in a holistic manner. Naturally, it requires the legal profession in Hong Kong to consciously establish such a concept in society and steadfastly protect the interest of China’s sovereignty, security and development interests when providing legal services. While enjoying the tremendous opportunities created by the country’s national 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and the Qianhai Plan, Hong Kong’s legal profession should consciously safeguard national security and help facilitate the ultimate integration of the SAR’s own development into national development as well as contribute to national development.

From stability to prosperity

Tracing the HKSAR’s rule of law back to its constitutional roots is crucial to ensuring Hong Kong’s successful transition from stability to prosperity. President Xi Jinping has stressed that the implementation of “one country, two systems” is conducive to safeguarding the fundamental interests of the Chinese mainland, the HKSAR, and its residents at large. The constitutional order framed by China’s Constitution and the Basic Law of the HKSAR is the core of Hong Kong’s rule of law. Article 31 of the Constitution provides that the central authorities have the right to establish special administrative regions, while the Basic Law provides the fundamental guarantee for the common law system to be continuously practiced in Hong Kong. Further, it also ensures that the Hong Kong judiciary possesses the power of final adjudication and is able to exercise independent judicial power. For the legal profession in Hong Kong, it is tantamount to fish in the air when talking about defending the rule of law while, or if, it deviates or even detaches from the constitutional order defined by the Constitution and the Basic Law.

With the concerted efforts of the DoJ and the legal profession, mutual judicial assistance between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland has entered a fast track. In just four years since June 2018, four arrangements concerning recognition and enforcement of matrimonial and family judgments, civil and commercial judgments, arbitral awards and interim measures in aid of arbitration have been intensively negotiated and executed between mainland and Hong Kong legal authorities. These arrangements effectively promote the judicial construction and cooperation between the two jurisdictions and significantly enhance Hong Kong’s advantages as a center for international dispute-resolution services. It’s crucial to recognize that Hong Kong’s success in securing these groundbreaking arrangements, which other jurisdictions have failed to make, has been made possible by leveraging the “one country” foundation. A broader arena with tremendous opportunities for Hong Kong’s legal profession will be built, for sure, upon the national policies such as the Greater Bay Area project and the Belt and Road Initiative. Thus, the prerequisite for realizing the advantages of “two systems” is to uphold “one country”.

Strengthening legal hub position

As President Xi Jinping has pointed out, China is going global and proactively participating in international affairs as a responsible leading country, and so it must leverage the rule of law, which is regarded as an essential component of the country’s core competitiveness and is an important practice of the country when participating in international affairs and global governance. Strengthening the development of foreign-related legal services is of the essence in improving the foreign-related law system; it is a major policy objective of China to position Hong Kong as the only center for international legal and dispute resolution services in China under the 14th Five-Year Plan. The secretary for justice, Ms Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah SC, said in her blog recently that the key to fully complementing the development of the country’s foreign-related law system lies in the continuous progress of building capacity and nurturing legal talents who are equipped with international perspectives. It identified the direction for how Hong Kong can be best placed to excel in this regard — by being the only bilingual common law jurisdiction in the world, which is also an important foundation for Hong Kong to consolidate its position as a leading international legal hub.

As China plays an increasingly significant role on the international stage, more and more Chinese companies and citizens are going global. In the light of the turbulent international situation over the past few years, the risks and uncertainties brought by the competition among the leading countries on such fronts as sovereignty and high technology as well as the rise of trade protectionism are likely to continuously increase in the next few years. Under such circumstances, Chinese enterprises are bound to encounter greater hindrances and challenges in expanding their business interests overseas; the cross-border disputes and legal issues will become more complex at the same time. This will raise the demand for the services of Hong Kong legal professionals who are familiar with foreign-related laws. The legal professionals are familiar with the actual situation of Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland while possessing international perspectives, having a global outlook and an understanding of the international rules. Other than ensuring the interests of the clients, we must also safeguard the national interests at the ideological level when we are handling cross-border transactions and legal disputes. We must firmly maintain and participate in the establishment of the international orders, such as the economic order and commercial order.

Over the past five years, the DoJ has put considerable efforts in organizing international legal conferences, facilitating the establishment of the Hong Kong branches of international legal institutions, and implementing the secondment of local legal professionals to the intergovernmental legal organizations, etc. These initiatives have undoubtedly laid a good foundation for Hong Kong to nurture talents who are skillful in foreign-related laws, boosted Hong Kong’s reputation as a leading international legal hub, and enhanced China’s international discourse power.

Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor reminded members of the next administration in a recent interview that they must have the vision of the big picture, State concept, sense of nationalism and, most importantly, a heroic spirit. Hong Kong, along with the Chinese mainland, is moving toward the center of the world stage. To offer help to the country for the development of a foreign-related law system and the formulation of the international laws and regulations, the legal profession in Hong Kong also needs to establish the awareness of the heroic spirit.

The author is a practicing lawyer qualified on the Chinese mainland, in the HKSAR and in England and Wales; a member of the International Legal and Dispute Resolution Services Expert Group, Advisory Body on Promotion of Arbitration, Steering Committee on Mediation, and Advisory Body on Third Party Funding of Arbitration and Mediation.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.