The Law Society of Hong Kong is preparing a major conference on The Belt and Road to coincide with its 110th anniversary, underscoring the importance of the initiative for Hong Kong’s legal community.
The conference, entitled The Belt and Road: A Catalyst for Connectivity, Convergence and Collaboration, will be held on Friday 12 May at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).
Legal delegates and speakers from all points along the Belt and Road, stretching from Southeast Asia through to Europe, have been invited to attend in anticipation of a diverse and multicultural forum united with the objective of realizing China’s ambitious development strategy initially referred to as One Belt, One Road.
This is a world first – the first global event focused on helping the legal practitioners in Hong Kong and around the world to learn from experts and build contacts to benefit from the multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative,” said Huen Wong, council member of the Law Society of Hong Kong and chairman of the Belt and Road Conference Organization Committee. Wong urged the legal community to “come learn about the future of lawyering, build networks and friendship”.
The law society’s goal with the conference is to provide an informative and in-depth look at The Belt and Road from a legal perspective, exploring the many elements that will drive the initiative.
To this end it established a Belt and Road Committee, charged with reaching out to law associations in the countries covered by the Belt and Road and engaging them to help all parties better understand the legal elements that will affect business and trade within the initiative.
“All international trade and business activities are conducted against a backdrop of law,” said Fred Kan, chairman of the Belt and Road Committee. “It is essential for the success of the Belt and Road initiative to provide a platform to facilitate an understanding of the various applicable laws and endeavour to harmonize them.”
Relevant committees from the law society are also working with UNCITRAL (the UN Commission on International Trade Law) and other agencies to harmonize business and trade laws along the Belt and Road.
The 12 May conference will include three sessions. The first will address opportunities and challenges for bilateral and multilateral trade, looking at legal, tax, financing and insurance issues relevant to bilateral/ multilateral trade, as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
The second session, entitled E-tools for international trade, will look at the crucial arena of technology and the importance of big data, block chain, cloud computing and virtual currencies in redefining international trade, asking the question: Can Belt and Road businesses harness the power of big data and prepare themselves for any possible backlash?
The final session looks at resolving disputes in cross-border trade. With the demand for international dispute resolution services on the uptick, how will trade disputes, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and even maritime law disputes play out along the Belt and Road?
Those wishing to attend the conference can register on the law society’s website at: hklawsoc-beltandroad.com
MAJOR ANNIVERSARY ALIGNS WITH CONFERENCE
The Law Society of Hong Kong’s Belt and Road conference has been planned to coincide with the society’s 110th anniversary celebrations, underscoring the importance being placed on the initiative for Hong Kong’s legal community.
On Saturday 13 May, conference delegates will help the Law Society of Hong Kong celebrate its 110th anniversary at a Jubilee dinner in the Grand Hall at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The dinner is a major event for the legal community and is expected to draw more than 1,300 participants from countries along the Belt and Road and elsewhere overseas, as well as from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. This occasion will also be graced by the Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung.
Hong Kong has a split legal profession comprising solicitors and barristers. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the professional association for solicitors in Hong Kong and was established in 1907.
As of the end of March 2017, the Law Society had 10,443 members, 9,076 of whom have a current certificate to practise as a Hong Kong solicitor. There were also 1,371 foreign lawyers qualified primarily from 32 jurisdictions.
