DoJ and Chongqing Municipal Justice Bureau sign legal services co-operation framework arrangement (with photos)

     The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, today (May 29) signed a framework arrangement with Deputy Director-General of the Chongqing Municipal Justice Bureau Mr Xiong Shiming on legal services co-operation between Chongqing and Hong Kong to deepen the cities' exchanges and co-operation in legal services, enabling lawyers in the two places to better serve the economic development.

     The two sides reached an agreement on many fronts regarding the deepening of legal services co-operation between Chongqing and Hong Kong, including enhancing co-operation and exchanges of legal sectors in the two places, strengthening exchanges and co-operation in the training of foreign-related legal services talent, organising mutual exchange of government legal officials to the other side or other relevant government departments, supporting and encouraging the Chongqing and Hong Kong legal sectors to provide legal services to enterprises in both places with the aim of promoting the "go global" development strategy, and supporting Chongqing and Hong Kong law firms to set up branches at the other side and to establish partnership associations.

     Mr Lam said that the framework arrangement forms a solid foundation to promote future exchanges and co-operation between the two places on various issues such as legal and dispute resolution services, and to jointly contribute to the construction of rule of law of the country.

     The Department of Justice and the Chongqing Municipal Justice Bureau signed a co-operation agreement in 2002. Since then, co-operation and exchanges between the legal professions of the two places have been achieving good progress. The signing of this framework arrangement will further strengthen the cities' co-operation, and is conducive to the implementation of the specific co-operation measures supporting and promoting the legal and dispute resolution service sectors of both places, which were outlined in the memorandum signed by the two governments at the High-Level Meeting cum First Plenary Session of Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference in May last year.