Legal pilot scheme sees over 600 SAR lawyers qualified for Guangdong practice

More than 600 legal practitioners from Macao and Hong Kong have qualified under a pilot programme to work as attorneys across nine cities in Guangdong province, according to a report currently under review by Chinese lawmakers.

The programme, first authorised by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in August 2020, was established to support the “one country, two systems” policy by leveraging the specific expertise of legal professionals from the two Special Administrative Regions. Since the initiative began, more than 2,000 applicants have sat for qualification examinations organised by the Ministry of Justice, China Daily reports.

To date, 646 lawyers have obtained the mainland practice qualification required for the nine cities within the Greater Bay Area. Of those certified, 544 are from Hong Kong and 102 are from Macao. Following its initial three-year run, the programme was extended in September 2023 and is scheduled to continue until 4 October.

[See more: China’s services sector growth reaches three-month high]

The report says the lawyers have actively participated in civil, commercial, and non-litigation cases by drawing on their backgrounds in common law and Portuguese-speaking jurisdictions. Their contributions are credited with fostering a more internationalised and market-oriented business environment in the Greater Bay Area. 

Furthermore, 81 of these practitioners have been appointed as arbitrators in mainland institutions, while 71 serve as commercial mediators and 26 act as invited mediators in Guangdong courts, China Daily says.

Lawmakers are currently considering incorporating the programme into law to continue attracting legal talent from Hong Kong and Macao to work on the mainland.