[REVISION HISTORY]

China and Hong Kong legal integration and reform

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What changed

2026-09-29 02:31 UTC → 2026-10-13 01:01 UTC · added ~~removed~~

China and Hong Kong are pursuing legislative and judicial reforms to enhance legal services and professional cooperation. In August 2026, Chinese legislators began reviewing a draft amendment to the Lawyers Law to strengthen international legal services and facilitate practice for Hong Kong and Macau professionals within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In late September 2026, Hong Kong’s Department of Justice launched a one-month stakeholder consultation on proposed amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance. These revisions address 14 issues related to speed, convenience, confidentiality, and fairness, with the goal of submitting an amendment bill to the Legislative Council early next year to bolster the city’s status as an international arbitration hub. Efforts to reform professional designations have also surfaced. The Law Society of Hong Kong proposed amending the Legal Practitioners Ordinance to allow highly experienced solicitors to be appointed as Senior Counsel to address increasing court caseloads. Law Society President Tong Man-lung stated this initiative aims to “expand the judicial talent pool to address long-term shortages of judges in the High Court,” specifically allowing experts in fields like intellectual property, maritime, and space law to ascend to higher judicial positions. This proposal has met with reservations from the Hong Kong Bar Association, which argues the title should be reserved for those with exceptional courtroom advocacy skills. ~~Additionally,~~ In October 2026, the Law Society suggested updating the Chinese translation of ‘Solicitor’ to ‘Lawyer’. The Department of Justice has clarified that the Senior Counsel appointment issue is not part of the current legislative amendment process regarding statutory instruments. Concurrently, Hong Kong’s Department of Justice and China’s Supreme People’s Court have agreed to deepen cooperation also launched its renovated headquarters in ~~cultivating judicial talent through research, online training, and mechanized cooperation projects. This includes utilizing the Hong Kong International Legal Talent Training Institute~~ Central, featuring three soundproof arbitration suites to ~~host programs~~ meet high demand for ~~judges from ‘Belt~~ mediation and ~~Road’ regions.~~ arbitration spaces.

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