Hong Kong launches legal academy as officials reaffirm commitment to rule of law

Hong Kong launched an academy for training international legal talent in the city during a forum on Friday, with the justice minister saying preliminary discussions for its offerings had started earlier this week.

The newly-established Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy shows the government’s commitment to cultivating expertise in this field, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on the final day of Hong Kong Legal Week.

“[The Academy] will also collaborate with international organisations and legal bodies, strengthening exchanges in regions under the Belt and Road Initiative, while underlining Hong Kong’s status as a capacity-building centre for legal talent throughout the region and beyond,” Lee said.

Speaking to the media at the forum, Secretary of Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said Yang Ling had been appointed as the director of the Hong Kong international legal talents training office, while a committee consisting of 17 legal experts and scholars also met yesterday.

“We had some preliminary exchanges. Everyone will understand that since it’s the first meeting after the office was established, we hope to announce concrete plans in due course after gathering different opinions,” Lam said.

The justice minister added that his proposal to add mediation clauses to government contracts would bolster the use of this dispute resolution mechanism in society.