Hong Kong Barristers Exert Pressure On China For Mainland Practice Rights

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

11 September 2003

It has emerged that the Hong Kong Bar Council is to meet with the Chinese Ministry of Justice later this month, in order to attempt to persuade the Chinese authorities to allow Hong Kong's barristers the same rights to practice on the mainland as have been afforded to the territory's solicitors.

Under the auspices of the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Hong Kong lawyers will be permitted to study for qualifications as mainland lawyers with a view to practicing there. However, SAR-based solicitors are prohibited from practising any kind of litigation work, and barristers have been excluded from the agreement altogether.

Speaking to the Legal Week news service, Alan Leong SC, head of the Bar Council's mainland practice relations committee suggested that there were several reasons, both socio-economic and political, why barristers have been excluded from the draft agreement thus far. He observed that:

'Litigation is the bread and butter for most mainland China lawyers,' and went on to explain that: 'The Chinese mainland does not practice adversarial or hostile litigation like we do. I do not rule out that our style and concepts of litigation would have an impact.'

However, he added that in light of the fact that the SAR is prepared to allow mainland lawyers to practice litigation in the territory, a degree of reciprocity should be expected.

Recommended