Promoting Legal Education and Integrating it into National Development: An Interview with Secretary for Justice of the HKSAR Government

Secretary for Justice of the HKSAR Government: Promoting legal education and actively integrating it into national development

Release time: 15:48, June 26, 2023 Source: China News Network

[Concurrent]Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

Generally speaking, I can objectively say that I had some plans for “July 1st” (last year), and I believe that most of the things we expected to do can still be completed according to the original plan today. This is something I feel quite satisfied with.

[Explanation]On the eve of the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, Lin Dingguo, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency. In Lin Dingguo’s view, promoting and strengthening the publicity and education of the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law in Hong Kong, and how to improve the consciousness of respecting the law and law-abiding awareness in the whole society are the most important tasks since he took office.

[Concurrent]Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

After I became the Secretary for Justice, one of the biggest tasks was to promote education on the rule of law. Therefore, a “Rule of Law Education Steering Committee” was established to implement the “Rule of Law Education Leader Training Program”, with the purpose of raising the general public’s awareness of the rule of law and correct understanding of the rule of law. Concept, this is the direction I hope to continue to work on in the future. We need every citizen to support our entire legal system and be willing to abide by and respect the law. I think the most important thing is whether the whole society has the consciousness of respecting the law and the consciousness of obeying the law.

[Explanation]Lin Dingguo introduced that the members of the “Rule of Law Education Steering Committee” are composed of directors of relevant policy bureaus, representatives of the judiciary and legal circles, and law schools. They will work together to assist the Department of Justice in strengthening legal education and training in Hong Kong. Talking about the current work progress, Lin Dingguo said that he hopes to officially start the training course by the end of the year.

[Concurrent]Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

Now we are still in the process of preparation, and hope to officially start our entire training course by the end of this year. Under the “Rule of Law Education Leader Training Program”, we actually have two working groups, one of which is to design course content. For example, we used to From my point of view, it is not enough to discuss the Constitution, the Basic Law, and the National Security Law. First of all, you need to have a basic understanding of the common law, the country’s constitution, what is the rule of law, why we have laws, and many basic things, so I hope that we should have a basic understanding of the scope of course design It is more extensive than before. Second, we need a group responsible for overall coordination.

[Explanation]On February 16, 2023, the preparatory office of the International Mediation Institute was unveiled in Hong Kong. In Lin Dingguo’s view, the central government’s establishment of the International Mediation Institute Preparatory Office in Hong Kong fully reflects the country’s trust and support for Hong Kong, and is a precious gift for Hong Kong. Hong Kong has the institutional advantages of “one country, two systems”, as well as a mature legal system and a solid foundation for the rule of law. He believes that the Preparatory Office of the International Mediation Institute will provide friendly, flexible, economical and efficient mediation services for resolving international disputes.

[Concurrent]Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

Currently, there are three main ways to resolve disputes: litigation to court, second is arbitration, and third is mediation. The concept of mediation is different and not confrontational. We seek a solution acceptable to both parties to resolve disputes, hoping to achieve a win-win situation the result of. One of China’s national characteristics is to seek common ground while reserving differences, and to put peace as the most important thing. Mediation is very in line with Chinese characteristics. It is very suitable for the preparatory office of the International Mediation Institute to be located in Hong Kong. For Hong Kong, it is a demonstration of the central government’s confidence in Hong Kong’s legal system. This (the establishment of the International Mediation Institute Preparatory Office in Hong Kong by the central government) is a great gift from the central government to Hong Kong, and we need to cherish this great gift. We established a preparatory office in February and have already carried out relevant work. I also hope that we can actively cooperate with the development of the entire preparatory office in the future.

[Explanation]With the full restoration of “customs clearance” in Hong Kong, personnel exchanges and visits between the two places have become increasingly frequent. A few days ago, Lin Dingguo led a 20-member delegation composed of representatives of the Hong Kong legal industry to visit Guangzhou and Shenzhen, expecting to deepen the legal cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and to discuss the mutual judicial assistance arrangements for civil and commercial matters under the common law system between the two places. The event also allowed Lin Dingguo to see the future work direction of the Department of Justice.

[Concurrent]Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

Two weeks ago, I went to Nansha, Guangzhou, and Qianhai, Shenzhen. I had some meetings and discussions with courts, different arbitration institutions, and other ministries. I also went with friends from the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Bar Association to strengthen the connection between people. . The development of the (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao) Greater Bay Area requires the connection of rules and the connection of systems, but how to match talents and how to connect talents is very important for us to implement the rules. We already have a good mechanism, but it needs to be implemented by people in order for the system to work. How to strengthen communication among legal professionals is very important, and it is also the direction of my future work.

Reporter Liu Xuanting, Fan Siyi, Luo Siyu reported from Hong Kong

Responsible editor:[Li Ji]

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2023-06-26 07:48:00