The Department of Justice together with the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province and the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macao Special Administrative Region held the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Legal Departments Joint Conference (the Joint Conference) in Hong Kong this morning (September 12).
Those attending the Joint Conference included the Director-General of the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province, Mr Zeng Xianglu; the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC; and the Secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, Ms Sonia Chan.
The main purpose for setting up the Joint Conference is, in accordance with the guiding directions set out in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to strengthen the legal exchanges and collaborations between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao with a view to jointly promoting legal development in the Greater Bay Area, thereby providing more comprehensive and inclusive legal and dispute resolution services to enterprises. At the meeting, the three parties agreed to establish a joint conference mechanism among the legal departments, which will be hosted in the three locations alternately to discuss work progress and research priorities on legal exchanges and collaboration.
Speaking at the Joint Conference, Ms Cheng pointed out that "one country, two systems and three jurisdictions" are the characteristics of the Greater Bay Area. Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao should seize the opportunity to show their respective strengths and provide innovative and diversified legal services to enterprises in the Greater Bay Area. She also put forward some specific proposals, including the establishment and implementation of a mediation platform in the Greater Bay Area and widening the application of Hong Kong law.
Ms Cheng expressed gratitude to her counterparts in Guangdong and Macao for their support in setting up the Joint Conference. She is confident that the Joint Conference could achieve good results and work towards the goal of the Outline Development Plan to provide quality, effective and convenient judicial and legal services and safeguards for the Greater Bay Area.
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