Hong Kong Legal Week 2023, an annual flagship event of the legal sector and the Department of Justice (DoJ), successfully concluded today (November 10). Prominent legal and dispute resolution experts and academics from around the world were gathered at the Legal Week's series of events to conduct in-depth discussions on a wide range of important topics, including international legal co-operation, mediation, arbitration, and opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative. Themed "Onward & Forward: Connecting the World", in its five days of events Hong Kong Legal Week 2023 attracted over 11 000 participants in person and online, including representatives from the legal, maritime, aviation, arts, intellectual property and finance sectors, as well as educators, teachers, students and representatives from youth organisations from more than 50 jurisdictions. It demonstrated that Hong Kong's strong global connections, and the city's unique advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, have been fully leveraged.
The Rule of Law for the Future was held today as the finale of Hong Kong Legal Week 2023. The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr Liu Guangyuan; and the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, gave their remarks at the opening session. The keynote speech was delivered by the Chief Judge of the High Court, Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor.
It was followed by two panel discussions under the main theme of "Rule of Law: A Core Pillar of Support for the '8 Centres' under the National 14th Five-Year Plan". Renowned legal professionals and academics discussed the essential role of Hong Kong's legal and dispute resolution services in supporting the development of the maritime and aviation industry in Hong Kong, and explained the interplay between art and law in areas such as intellectual property protection and trading, and copyright issues in developing Hong Kong into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
In the afternoon, students were engaged in an open exchange with a Legislative Council member, a school principal and a teacher to share their experiences, anecdotes and their vision on the rule of law topics.
It was the first time a special session, "National Security Chatroom: You ask, I answer", was hosted during the Legal Week for the Secretary for Justice to answer questions and clarify misunderstandings about the Hong Kong National Security Law through daily examples and down-to-earth explanations.
The Rule of Law for the Future and Hong Kong Legal Week 2023 were concluded by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan. The DoJ, dedicated to reinforcing the public awareness of the rule of law, will continue to organise a variety of relevant events, and has been actively preparing for the launch of the first phase of the Rule of Law Education Train-the-Leaders Programme. The Department will also proactively engage with places in the region and beyond to promote Hong Kong's competitiveness as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia‑Pacific region under the National 14th Five‑Year Plan, so as to tell the good stories of Hong Kong's rule of law and further consolidate the city's solid foundation of the rule of law, and contribute to the construction of the rule of law of the country.
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