Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by the Hon Wilson Or and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (July 7):   Question:       &… read more

     The Government will introduce the Sale of Goods (United Nations Convention) Bill into the Legislative Council (LegCo) to implement the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with a view to enhancing Hong Kong’s legal infrastructure for the international sale of goods and bolstering its role as an international hub for trade and dispute resolution.

     A spokesman for the Department of Justice said today (July 7), “The CISG is an important and widely adopted Convention. With 94 Contracting States as at the end of June this year, it is a commercial law treaty which provides a set of uniform rules governing contracts for the international sale of goods within its scope. Its purpose is to provide a modern, uniform and fair regime for contracts for the international sale of goods, thereby introducing certainty in commercial exchanges and decreasing transaction costs.

     “The Government conducted a public consultation on the proposed application of the CISG to Hong Kong during the period from March to September 2020. In summary, there is general support among the respondents to the consultation (including the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong).

     “The benefits of applying the CISG to Hong Kong include the potential to drive GDP and trade growth, preventing Hong Kong businesses from being subject to unfamiliar foreign laws when entering into cross-boundary transactions, improving Hong Kong’s competence in resolving CISG disputes, and providing Hong Kong businesses with an additional choice of law option.”

     While China is a Contracting State to the CISG, the CISG is currently not applicable to Hong Kong.

     The CISG applies automatically to contracts for the sale of goods between parties whose places of business are in different Contracting States. Further, it also applies to international sales contracts where the rules of private international law of the forum lead to the application of the law of a Contracting State according to Article 1(1)(b) of the CISG, although any State may declare under Article 95 that it will not be bound by this provision. While China has made such reservation when joining the CISG, the Government plans to apply the CISG without such reservation to Hong Kong, taking into account the responses received in the public consultation.

     Party autonomy is a fundamental principle of the Convention. With very limited exceptions, the parties can, by agreement, derogate from or vary the effect of any provisions of the CISG, or exclude the Convention’s application entirely.

     Noting that relevant stakeholders may require time to adapt to the change and adjust their business practice and affairs as appropriate, the Government plans to defer the commencement of the Bill until at least six to nine months after its passage.

     After the enactment of the Bill, the Government will seek the assistance of the Central People’s Government in completing the necessary steps for the above application of the CISG to Hong Kong pursuant to Article 153 of the Basic Law.

     The Bill will be gazetted on Friday (July 9), and will then be introduced into LegCo on July 14. read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (July 7) that in view of a notification from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration about an outbreak of highly patho… read more

     A man who went missing in Yau Ma Tei was located.      Ho Wei-hung, aged 76, went missing after he left a caring centre on Reclamation Street in the small hours of yesterday (July 6). Staff of t… read more

     A spokesman for the Department of Justice (DoJ) said today (July 7) that the Government will introduce the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2021 into the Legislative Council (LegCo) to enable legal officers who are not barristers, upon satisfying the relevant eligibility requirements, to be eligible for appointment as Senior Counsel (SC).

     According to section 31A(1) of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) (LPO), only barristers are eligible to be appointed as SC. Under the current regime, legal officers who are not admitted as barristers (for example those admitted as solicitors) are not eligible for appointment as SC even if they take up the same amount of advocacy work as those who are barristers, and satisfy the substantive eligibility requirements stipulated in section 31A(2) of the LPO.

     The DoJ proposes to amend section 31A of the LPO so that a person (not being a barrister) who holds office as a legal officer (as defined by section 2 of the Legal Officers Ordinance (LOO) and including a person deemed to be a legal officer for the purposes of the LOO) is eligible to be appointed as an SC upon satisfaction of the relevant eligibility requirements. The key justifications include:

(1) There has always been no practical distinction between the duties of legal officers who are barristers and those who are not, and the proposal allows those who satisfy the substantive eligibility requirements but are not admitted as barristers to receive a fair recognition;

(2) The proposal aligns with the merit-based selection principle and is in the public interest. According to section 31A(1) of the LPO, the Chief Justice may, after consultation with the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association and the president of the Law Society of Hong Kong, appoint as SC barristers who satisfy the eligibility requirements. The proposal is also conducive to the Chief Justice’s exercise of discretion to appoint, based on ability and merits and in the interest of the public, those suitable ones (including eligible barristers in private practice and legal officers) as SC; and

(3) The proposal does not affect any rights of the legal practitioners in the private sector (including the opportunities for barristers in private practice to be appointed as SC), nor disturb the professional demarcation between the barristers’ and solicitors’ branches as legal services providers. Under the proposal, a legal officer (non-barrister) appointed as SC is only entitled to use the title of SC when holding office as a legal officer. More importantly, the proposal does not alter the selection mechanism and criteria of appointment of SC. Same as barristers in private practice, legal officers are equally required to satisfy the series of eligibility requirements under section 31A of the LPO, including possessing sufficient ability, standing and knowledge of the law and having the requisite experience, to be appointed as SC by the Chief Justice.

     The LegCo Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services was consulted on June 21, and expressed support for the legislative proposal. The DoJ has already briefed the Chief Justice and the legal sector on the legislative proposal. Organisations from the sector include the Law Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Bar Association and the other bodies specified for the legal subsector as provided in Annex 6 of the Schedule to the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569). The Law Society and some legal bodies have expressed clear support for the proposal. The DoJ will continue to engage in further communication with the Bar Association with a view to addressing its concern.

     The Bill will be gazetted on July 9, and introduced into LegCo on July 14. read more