Secretary for Justice Paul Lam began his European visit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Sunday by meeting  international organisations, judges from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), government officials and the local business community.

Upon his arrival, Mr Lam met Hong Kong people and overseas Chinese organisation representatives living in the Netherlands and Luxembourg to learn about their work and life, and shared with them Hong Kong's latest developments in various areas.

After arriving at The Hague the next day, he visited the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and met Secretary General of the HCCH Christophe Bernasconi.

Mr Lam thanked the HCCH for its support for the secondment programme of legal professionals of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and exchanged views on further strengthening the co-operation between the DoJ and the HCCH, including hosting an international conference about the Hague Conventions during Hong Kong Legal Week in December.

During a meeting with Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice & Security of the Netherlands Anneke Van Dijk and officials, Mr Lam introduced the latest developments of Hong Kong and discussed issues such as the development and direction of international legal co-operation.

Afterwards, he had a lunch meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Tan Jian.

In the afternoon, Mr Lam visited the ICJ of the United Nations and met ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa, to exchange views on the latest developments in international dispute resolution, including the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation with its headquarters in Hong Kong. They also shared views on the training of international legal experts and professionals.

At the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Mr Lam discussed the co-operation between the DoJ and the PCA in the fields of capacity building and international law with PCA Secretary-General Marcin Czepelak.

In the evening, he attended a business seminar and dinner organised by the Netherlands Hong Kong Business Association, and shared with about 100 participants Hong Kong's distinctive advantage of enjoying the strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle.

The justice chief stressed that Hong Kong's legal system is credible and reputable, user-friendly, and closely tied with Mainland China and other parts of the world, making Hong Kong's legal system exceptional among other common law peers.

Mr Lam will be in Paris for the second leg of his European visit today.