Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan introduces the cross-border legal collaboration development and local security law legislation during a Monday interview with China Daily. (JIANG JIAXUAN / CHINA DAILY)

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is dedicated to enhancing legal cooperation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to further promote the region’s legal development, improve the convenience of local residents, and boost investors’ confidence.  

Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan made these remarks during an exclusive interview with China Daily earlier this week. 

To facilitate cross-border legal activities, the HKSAR government plans to organize joint legal events with Chinese mainland cities, establish a GBA legal information platform, enhance existing arrangements for mutual legal assistance, and expand measures to choose Hong Kong law as applicable law or choose Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration in the GBA, Cheung said. 

For instance, the Department of Justice (DoJ) is exploring the possibility of organizing side events with relevant mainland authorities after the 26th Congress of International Council for Commercial Arbitration, which will be held in Hong Kong next May. The international law event is often regarded as “the Olympics of arbitration”. 

ALSO READ: SARs' legal experts bring skills to GBA

This will provide top international arbitration professionals with the opportunity to experience the development of the GBA firsthand, Cheung said.

Moreover, a highlight of Hong Kong Legal Week this November will be the participation of many arbitration institutions based in mainland GBA cities, in addition to the presence of internationally renowned legal experts and scholars from the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and overseas regions, according to Cheung.

Opportunities brought by the development of the GBA will be one of the major topics during the five-day exchanges, Cheung said.

In addition, the SAR government is taking steps to establish a website that will provide easy access to legal and dispute resolution services for residents and businesses, with an initial focus on GBA activities. 

The idea of a website was proposed by experts from the DoJ’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Task Force, which is led by Cheung.

During a June 23 meeting, the task force learned that cross-border business practitioners often reported difficulties in accessing mainland legal services resources, including relevant policy information. 

The DoJ believes such a one-stop website, with contributions from mainland government departments, courts, and universities, will help address the problem. 

Mutual assistance

The DoJ is also committed to enhancing existing arrangements for mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters, with the aim of reducing communication costs and providing greater convenience and benefits to residents and businesses, said Cheung. 

One major achievement is to allow Hong Kong-invested enterprises on the mainland to administer an arbitration with eligible Hong Kong dispute resolution organizations. At the request of the applicant, the mainland courts can freeze the respondent’s assets to prevent them from being transferred, concealed, damaged or destroyed. 

The arrangement, proposed to protect a claimant’s rights, is listed in the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the HKSAR, signed in 2019. 

Currently, the arrangement is being piloted in Nansha in Guangzhou, Qianhai in Shenzhen, and Hengqin in Zhuhai, and an expansion to other mainland GBA cities is under discussion. 

Cheung said the mechanism displayed a unique advantage of Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” principle. It can boost the confidence of the business community to invest or start businesses on the mainland, he added.

Security legislation

As for local legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, Cheung said it was progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed by the end of next year. 

“The environment for local legislation of Article 23 has changed profoundly and we will also take note of what happened during the social unrest in 2019 so that Hong Kong can avoid leaving any loopholes when enacting Article 23,” Cheung said. 

ALSO READ: GBA Task Force furthers legal cooperation between HK and mainland

“It is our constitutional responsibility to legislate on the Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. We should not be discussing whether or not Hong Kong should enact it, but rather how to do this task well.”

Cheung added that Hong Kong needs to get the message across that its legislation will be in line with international standards.

Michael Wong contributed to the story.

Contact the writers at lindaxi@chinadailyhk.com