The Department of Justice (DoJ) welcomed the passage of amendments to the Lawyers Law of the People's Republic of China by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) yesterday.

The amendments will take effect from Tuesday.

Article 62 of the amended Lawyers Law states that Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao SAR legal practitioners who pass the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Legal Professional Examination, administered by the judicial administration department of the State Council, and who obtain a Mainland practice qualification, can practise in stipulated areas of law in the Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing municipalities of Guangdong.

The State Council's judicial administration department also laid out enrolment requirements for the examination, application procedures for lawyers to practise, and the scope of practice allowed.

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam stated that the amended Lawyers Law makes clear provision for the GBA lawyers' scheme, thus providing a legal basis for the regularisation of the practice regime.

“I warmly welcome the amendments and express my sincere gratitude to authorities such as the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for their strong support to the development of the GBA lawyers' scheme. Since the NPCSC's authorisation of the State Council to conduct a pilot scheme for GBA lawyers, the professional team of GBA lawyers has been growing continuously, contributing efforts to the country's building of the rule of law.

“The National 15th Five-Year Plan Outline calls for deepening the construction of the GBA and accelerating the development of an international first-class bay area. GBA lawyers with dual practice qualifications can facilitate the interfaces of mechanisms and regulatory frameworks in the GBA, as well as proactively integrating into and contributing to the overall national development.” 

The NPCSC decided in August 2020 to authorise the State Council to conduct a pilot scheme for a period of three years.

The pilot period would have originally expired in October 2023 but was extended in August 2023 until October 4 of this year.

By June of this year, over 650 Hong Kong and Macau lawyers had obtained the Lawyer's License (GBA) and could provide legal services in the GBA's nine Mainland municipalities on specified civil and commercial matters in which Mainland laws apply.

GBA lawyers currently appear in court as litigation representatives in the GBA's nine Mainland municipalities and take up GBA arbitration cases.

The DoJ will continue to maintain close contact with authorities such as the MoJ and Guangdong's Department of Justice, in order to support and complement work to regularise the GBA lawyers' scheme.