The first Hong Kong Common Law Practical Training Course, co-organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy and the Supreme People's Court (SPC), officially commenced today (January 6). The two-week training course is an inaugural programme of the Academy after its launch in November 2024.
The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, spoke at the opening ceremony of the course and delivered the first lecture today. Mr Lam expressed his gratitude to the SPC for its support and trust in the Academy. Noting that Hong Kong has a robust bilingual common law system as the only common law jurisdiction in the country under the "one country, two systems" principle, Mr Lam said he hopes that the course will facilitate exchanges that bridge the legal systems of Hong Kong and the Mainland, and deepen the participants' understanding of Hong Kong's common law system so that they can integrate their learning into practice in future.
The course, primarily conducted in English, introduces the practical and operational aspects of Hong Kong's common law system to the participating Mainland judges through various formats including lectures, seminars and visits in a comprehensive manner. Speakers include local judges and legal officers, experienced legal professionals and members of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Expert Committee.
The first batch of the training course consists of 25 judges from the SPC, the High People's Court of Guangdong Province and courts of the nine Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Training activities will contribute to promote the co-operation between the legal systems of Hong Kong and the Mainland, as well as the interface of rules and mechanisms in the Greater Bay Area. The Academy will continue to leverage the unique strengths of the "one country, two systems" principle and the common law system of Hong Kong to contribute to the country's efforts in training foreign-related legal talent, strive to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international legal and dispute resolution service centre in the Asia-Pacific region, and build Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre legal talent, thereby playing a better role in the construction of foreign-related rule of law of the country.
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