The Department of Justice today said it welcomes the decision passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on authorising the State Council to implement pilot measures for Hong Kong and Macau legal practitioners.

The measures will allow practitioners to obtain Mainland practice qualifications and practise as lawyers in the nine Pearl River Delta municipalities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The Department of Justice noted the decision will be conducive to the expansion of professional service by the local legal sector in the Greater Bay Area.

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng said she is grateful to the central government for launching such an arrangement, which allows eligible Hong Kong legal practitioners to practise in specific areas of Mainland law upon passing a special examination and obtain practice qualifications in the bay area.

She pointed out that the move will further promote Hong Kong as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the bay area.

She also indicated that she believes that more facilitation and opportunities will be available for Hong Kong's legal sector in the bay area upon the measure’s implementation.

According to the Agreement Concerning Amendment to the CEPA Agreement on Trade in Services signed by the Mainland and Hong Kong in November last year, Hong Kong legal practitioners, upon passing a special examination, will be qualified to practise in specific areas to provide Mainland civil and commercial legal services in the bay area’s nine Pearl River Delta municipalities.

The measure will be implemented on a three-year pilot basis.

Under the liberalisation measures for early and pilot implementation in the bay area, the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province announced in July last year the Trial Measures of the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province on Hong Kong Law Firms & Macao Law Firms Operating in the Form of Partnership Association with Mainland Law Firms in Guangdong Province (2019 Revision).

Further liberalisation measures relating to partnership associations set up between Mainland and Hong Kong law firms in Guangdong Province were implemented, including the removal of the minimum capital injection ratio of 30% by Hong Kong partner firms in the partnership associations set up between Mainland and Hong Kong law firms, as well as allowing Mainland and Hong Kong lawyers to be employed directly in the partnership associations' own name.

There are currently 12 partnership associations in Guangdong Province. It is anticipated that more Hong Kong and Mainland law firms, especially small and medium-sized firms, will consider establishing partnership associations in the future to provide a one-stop shop of cross-jurisdictional legal services in the Mainland.

By enabling Hong Kong legal practitioners to practise in specific areas of Mainland law in the bay area upon obtaining the qualification, more professional talents will be available for the partnership associations. The arrangement fully complements the trial measures.

Ms Cheng noted that the liberalisation measures for early and pilot implementation are conducive to promoting the development of a multi-faceted dispute resolution mechanism based on wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, which is laid out in the Outline Development Plan for the bay area.

She expressed her gratitude to the legal organisations and legal sector representatives, including the Small & Medium Law Firms Association of Hong Kong and the Law Society of Hong Kong, for their staunch support for the introduction of the special examination measure by reflecting the sector's opinions and providing suggestions.