Hong Kong Justice Secretary Opens 2008 Legal Year

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

14 January 2008

Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice, Mr Wong Yan Lung, SC, spoke out on Monday at the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2008.

The Secretary began by announcing:

"In two weeks time, one of the oldest and largest law firms in Hong Kong will be merging with a leading US law firm to become a mega legal services provider in the Asia Pacific region. The world is indeed becoming flatter. In globalising legal services, the strategic position of Hong Kong needs little elaboration. "

Globalisation was high on the agenda, he revealed, continuing:

"Hong Kong has always been an international city. My department works closely with the international community in mutual legal assistance, anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering endeavours."

"Colleagues from my department were enlisted to participate in the mutual evaluation of Mongolia at the end of 2006 and Indonesia in 2007, as part of Evaluation Programme of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering."

Moving on, the secretary next discussed areas in which the country cannot afford to compromise, explaining that:

"For all of us working in the administration of public justice, there are more anchors which must not be moved. Public interest must be the paramount consideration and the rule of law must be vigorously upheld."

"When we speak of the "rule of law" as the foundation of our system, we mean not only that no man is above the law, but that every man, whatever his rank or position, be it the Chief Executive or the average citizen, is subject to the ordinary law and amendable to the jurisdiction of the courts."

"The Law Reform Commission continues to identify areas in our legal framework calling for review and improvement. Among the papers published last year is the important report on Conditional Fees. A new project which has already attracted considerable public attention is the review of the law and regulatory framework relating to charities in Hong Kong," he added.

The Secretary observed that:

""The world today is undergoing extensive and profound changes, and contemporary China is going through a wide-ranging and deep-seated transformation."

"This brings us unprecedented opportunities as well as unprecedented challenges, with the former out-weighing the latter."

And concluded:

"Projecting that into the legal context here in Hong Kong, by holding firmly to our strong tradition in and commitment to the rule of law, coupled with open-mindedness, goodwill and cooperation from all sides under the innovative concept of "One Country, Two Systems", I am convinced that Hong Kong can turn more challenges into opportunities, not only for ourselves but also for our country. I wish you all a happy and fruitful new year."

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