The Department of Justice (DoJ) today announced the establishment of a steering committee headed by Secretary for Justice Paul Lam to strengthen the rule of law education and training in Hong Kong.

Noting that the launch is one of its key policy initiatives in the 2022 Policy Address, the department said it seeks to convene the first meeting of the Steering Committee on Rule of Law Education in February.

The committee will work with representatives from relevant bureaus, the judicial and legal sectors and the law schools to co-ordinate and collaborate in promoting the awareness and proper understanding of the rule of law.

It will advise and assist the DoJ on the strategy and programme for promoting the rule of law education, including the launch of a programme that aims to train instructors in various sectors to enhance their capability for and the effectiveness of promoting consistent and correct messages relating to the rule of law.

The programme will complement and supplement existing initiatives relating to rule of law education and develop teaching materials for the trainers.

Mr Lam said: “To strengthen the community’s trust in the legal and judicial system, continual and dedicated efforts should be made to enhance the rule of law education, so that the public can have a proper understanding of Hong Kong’s common law system and the rule of law under ‘one country, two systems’.’’

He also said he looked forward to working with the steering committee members in implementing the Rule of Law Education Train-the-Trainers Programme.

The trainers are expected to reach out to the community in the latter half of 2023 to start work on promoting the rule of law to young people and the general public.