The Chief Executive, John Lee, met with the Vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, Mao Zhonghua, today (January 20) to exchange views on legal work and exchanges between Hong Kong and the Mainland legal personnel. The Secretary for Justice, Paul Lam, SC, and the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, attended the meeting.

Lee welcomed Mao's visit to Hong Kong with his delegation to attend the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2025. He expressed his gratitude to the Supreme People's Court for its active support of the Department of Justice, including establishing extensive, effective, and convenient mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters, actively promoting the implementation of the rule of law in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and supporting Hong Kong to establish itself as a center for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia‑Pacific region.

Lee said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to actively promote the measures of "allowing Hong Kong-invested enterprises to adopt Hong Kong law" and "allowing Hong Kong-invested enterprises to choose for arbitration to be seated in Hong Kong". This is to help stakeholders understand and fully use the new measures, encourage more foreign-invested enterprises to use Hong Kong as a springboard to tap into the Greater Bay Area and contribute to constructing a market-oriented and internationalized business environment in the Greater Bay Area.

Lee noted that Hong Kong contributes to resolving international commercial disputes and is one of the top three most preferred seats for arbitration worldwide. He is pleased that Hong Kong will achieve greater contributions to commercial dispute resolution very soon, with the Elaboration of the Convention on the Establishment of The International Organization for Mediation to be signed in Hong Kong this year. The International Organization for Mediation will provide an alternative way to settle international disputes in a friendly, flexible, economical, and efficient manner. Hong Kong will be developed as the capital for international mediation, which echoes the city's status as an international arbitration hub, further strengthening the city's position as a regional center for resolving commercial disputes.

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