Secretary for Justice Paul Lam will lead a delegation to Guangzhou and Shenzhen tomorrow with the aim of further promoting Hong Kong-Guangdong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong co-operation on legal matters.

The Department of Justice made the announcement today and explained that the delegation, comprising 20 representatives from the Hong Kong legal sector, will have the added goal of contributing to the building of the rule of law in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The department pointed out that this is Mr Lam's first visit to the Mainland cities in the bay area since taking office.

Mr Lam and the delegation will call on the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, the Guangzhou Internet Court, the Nansha International Arbitration Centre, the First International Commercial Court of the Supreme People's Court and the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People's Court.

Apart from meeting senior officials of the High People's Court of Guangdong Province and the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, Mr Lam will also visit the headquarters of Tencent.

In addition, the delegation will participate in separate roundtable meetings with the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court and the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People's Court to exchange views and explore further co-operation on important issues of mutual interest.

Such issues include the latest developments in the law on intellectual property rights in the Mainland and Hong Kong, the implementation of the initiative of allowing Hong Kong enterprises to adopt Hong Kong law and the practical issues relating to the proof of Hong Kong laws in Hong Kong-related cases.

Mr Lam said that the objective of the visit is to lead Hong Kong’s legal sector representatives to see for themselves and further understand the latest developments in the Mainland legal system and the role and opportunities of the bay area as the leading area on China's path to modernisation.

He also stressed that he hopes the relevant visits and thematic exchanges will create favourable conditions for the legal sector to share their practical experience with Mainland stakeholders and to jointly explore how the Hong Kong legal sector can further contribute to the high-quality development of the bay area and the country, so as to achieve mutual benefits through synergised co-operation.

The deputy heads of the delegation are Bar Association Chairman Victor Dawes and Law Society President Chan Chak-ming while the delegation members are composed of Deputy Director of Intellectual Property Thomas Tsang and representatives from the Bar Association, the Law Society, the Department of Justice and the Intellectual Property Department.

Mr Lam will conclude his visit and return to Hong Kong on June 10. During his absence, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan will be Acting Secretary.