372 lawyers licensed for Bay practice

Ayra Wang

A scheme to allow Hong Kong and Macau legal practitioners to practice in the Greater Bay Area has achieved a "remarkable result," as 372 lawyers from the two SARs have already been qualified, the ministry of justice said.

The director of the bureau of lawyers' work of the ministry, Tian Xin, said a total of 1,500 lawyers from the two SARs have registered to sit the GBA Legal Professional Examination, with 372 of them licensed.

He said the three-year pilot scheme permitting Hong Kong and Macau legal practitioners to practice in the nine mainland cities in the bay area has "achieved a phased success" since it was launched in 2020.

Authorities extended the pilot scheme to 2026 and relaxed restrictions for registration of GBA legal professional examination earlier in September, and Tian said lawyers from Hong Kong and Macau responded positively to the move.

He added that the ministry will also instruct the department of justice in Guangdong to provide licensing and management services for lawyers from the two SARs so as to create a better environment for them to work in the bay area.

"Lawyers in the Greater Bay Area have a good knowledge of the laws in Hong Kong and Macau, the relevant foreign laws and mainland laws; they proactively offer professional services on civil and commercial litigation and arbitration with foreign countries and two SARs, investment, and intellectual property rights," Tian said.

The ministry will look into the possibility of rolling out more facilitating measures to provide more development opportunities to these qualified lawyers.

Minister He Rong said that the ministry will also support Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Hainan in building international commercial arbitration centers and cultivate legal practitioners who are capable of handling legal cases with Hong Kong and Macau and foreign countries.