Editorial | Common law use no barrier to providing services over Hong Kong’s border

Hong Kong’s legal system is often, understandably, defined by its differences to that of the mainland. The distinction lies at the heart of the “one country, two systems” concept.

But the common law traditions of the city’s legal profession should not act as a barrier to locally based lawyers providing services across the border. There is much scope for greater interaction.

Earlier this month, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok led a delegation of more than 30 lawyers on a trip to Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

This offered a valuable opportunity for them to meet mainland counterparts, officials, judges and businesspeople.

The visit enabled the building of personal ties and exploration of opportunities to provide services. Lam described his department’s role as that of a “matchmaker”, helping forge cross-border contacts.

A record number of foreign lawyers and representatives of international law firms joined the trip. This is encouraging. It is notable that a third of the delegation were not Chinese speakers, showing that language does not necessarily need to be an obstacle.

The visit provided the lawyers from Hong Kong with insight into the workings of China’s International Commercial Court and included a visit to the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court.