The Chief Executive, John Lee, meets with reporters before attending the Executive Council meeting today (May 27). Lee said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier that the signing ceremony of the Elaboration of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation will be held in Hong Kong on May 30 (Friday).
"After the ratification of the Convention by the signatory states, the International Organization for Mediation will be formally established in Hong Kong and headquartered in Hong Kong," Lee said.
According to Lee, the International Organization for Mediation is an extremely high-level international organization, with a status comparable to that of the UN International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and is an international institution that implements the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations for the peaceful settlement of disputes by means of conciliation. The International Organization for Mediation is an effective way to improve the international order based on international law, as it can save time and bring economic cost-effectiveness compared with litigation and arbitration.
Lee expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the central government for its strong support and care for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and for conferring such an important international status on HKSAR.
Lee said that the establishment of the headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong will bring significant benefits to Hong Kong in a number of ways: "Firstly, Hong Kong's international status will be enhanced. Through the International Organization for Mediation, Hong Kong's role in the field of international mediation will be significantly enhanced, and its international influence will also be significantly increased. Under "one country, two systems", Hong Kong practises common law and is the only jurisdiction in the world that practises both Chinese and English common law. It has a rich pool of international professionals who will provide a critical force for the International Organization for Mediation.
Secondly, the International Organization for Mediation will bring about significant economic benefits. The demand for its services will create a large number of job opportunities, including mediators, translators, researchers, etc. It will also attract international organizations, non-government organizations and academic institutions to move in, and introduce high-quality conferences and exhibitions, which will further promote the development of hotels, catering, logistics and transportation, as well as convention economy-related industries. In addition, the International Organization for Mediation, together with the International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, will become an important institution for global dispute resolution, which will be conducive to Hong Kong's economic and trade co-operation with the international community, in particular countries along the “Belt and Road Initiative”, and will bring more business opportunities to Hong Kong.
Thirdly, the International Organization for Mediation will further improve the rule of law system in Hong Kong, promote the popularization of mediation culture in Hong Kong, and facilitate the resolution of problems through consultation. This will bring together legal professionals from around the world to carry out mediation work in Hong Kong, contributing to the building of the rule of law in dispute resolution and further consolidating Hong Kong's position as an international legal center."
Lee said that, in fact, with the efforts of the government and various parties, Hong Kong's status as an international center for legal and dispute resolution services has continued to grow. In the ranking of the most popular places for arbitration, Hong Kong has moved up one place again this year and is tied with another jurisdiction for second place in the world and first place in the Asia-Pacific region.
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