The first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Legal Departments Joint Conference was held in Hong Kong today to strengthen legal exchanges and collaborations between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.

Held by the Department of Justice together with the Guangdong Department of Justice and Macau Office of the Secretary for Administration & Justice, the conference was attended by Guangdong Department of Justice Director-General Zeng Xianglu, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, and Macau Secretary for Administration & Justice Sonia Chan.

The conference, in accordance with the guiding directions set out in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, aims to strengthen the legal exchanges and collaborations between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau to jointly promote legal development in the Greater Bay Area, thereby providing more comprehensive and inclusive legal and dispute resolution services to enterprises.

At the meeting, the three parties agreed to establish a joint conference mechanism among the legal departments, which will be hosted in the three locations alternately to discuss work progress and research priorities on legal exchanges and collaboration.

Ms Cheng told the conference that one country, two systems and three jurisdictions are the characteristics of the bay area.

She said the three places should seize the opportunity to show their strengths and provide innovative and diversified legal services to enterprises in the bay area.

Ms Cheng also put forward some specific proposals, including the establishment and implementation of a mediation platform in the bay area and widening the application of Hong Kong law.

She thanked her counterparts in Guangdong and Macau for their support in setting up the joint conference.

The justice chief added that she is confident the joint conference could achieve good results and work towards the outline development plan’s goal to provide quality, effective and convenient judicial and legal services and safeguards for the bay area.