AboutUs the Law Society Is a Professional Association For
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THE LAW SOCIETY OF HONG KONG About Us 1. The Law Society is a professional association for solicitors in Hong Kong. It was incorporated in 1907 as a company limited by guarantee. 2. The Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Law Society set out the objects, the machinery of government of the Law Society: election of the Council, delegation of responsibilities to committees, employment of staff and investigation of complaints regarding professional misconduct. 3. Under the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159, Laws of Hong Kong), the Law Society has a certification role in the admission procedure and it is empowered to: (a) issue annual practising certificates and certificates of registration to Hong Kong solicitors, foreign lawyers and foreign law firms; (b) investigate and refer allegations of professional misconduct to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal; (c) intervene in a solicitor's practice in cases of dishonesty, undue delay, bankruptcy, death or other causes; (d) establish rules for the conduct and education of solicitors and trainee solicitors; and (e) arrange and maintain a compulsory Professional Indemnity Scheme. 4. The Council is the governing body of the Law Society. There are twenty members in the Council. The President and Vice-Presidents are elected annually by the Council. The list of Council members is set out below. 5. The Law Society’s Secretariat has about 100 staff headed by the Secretary General. 6. The services provided by the Law Society are made available primarily to its members. 7. There are three major types of members: (a) members who are solicitors of Hong Kong eligible to hold a practising certificate (Article 3(a) of the Articles of Association of the Law Society); (b) student members who are trainee solicitors and law students (Article 3(bb) of the Articles of Association of the Law Society); (c) associate members who are lawyers qualified in overseas jurisdictions (Article 3(b) of the Articles of Association of the Law Society). 8. There are also other categories including honorary members (Article 3(aa)) and members on the Roll of Honour (Article 3(ab) of the Articles of Association of the Law Society). 9. Membership is compulsory for those solicitors who wish to apply for a practising certificate. Student membership for trainee solicitors and law students is voluntary. 10. More information about the Law Society is available from its website: www.hklawsoc.org.hk. The Law Society also publishes an annual report on its activities and accounts. The 2018 annual report is posted on the Law Society website at http://www.hklawsoc.org.hk/pub_e/about/report/. 2019/20 Law Society Of Hong Kong Council ● President 會 長: Melissa K. PANG 彭 韻 僖 ● Vice-President 副 會 長: Amirali B. NASIR 黎 雅 明 Brian W. GILCHRIST 喬 柏 仁 C. M. CHAN 陳 澤 銘 ● Council Members 理 事: Stephen W.S. HUNG 熊 運 信 Billy W.Y. MA 馬 華 潤 Cecilia K.W. WONG 黃 吳 潔 華 Denis BROCK 白 樂 德 Warren P. GANESH 莊 偉 倫 Roden M.L. TONG 湯 文 龍 Robert C. RHODA 羅 睿 德 Jonathan ROSS 羅 彰 南 Pierre T.H. CHAN 陳 達 顯 Eric T.M. CHEUNG 張 達 明 Karen LAM 藍 嘉 妍 Careen H.Y. WONG 黃 巧 欣 Calvin K. CHENG 鄭 偉 邦 Mark DALY 帝 理 邁 Doreen Y.F. KONG 江 玉 歡 Christopher K.K. YU 余 國 堅 ● Secretary General 秘 書 長: Heidi K.P. CHU 朱 潔 冰 ● Deputy Secretary General 副 秘 書 長: Christine W.S. Chu 朱 穎 雪 11. This Territory Report highlights some of the key professional and legislative developments in Hong Kong since the last report submitted in July 2018. Entrenching the rule of law and human rights under “One Country Two Systems” 12. An important role of The Law Society of Hong Kong ("the Law Society") is to safeguard the Rule of Law and to uphold these principles on which this core value is founded. Amendments proposed for the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance 13. The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 (“the Bill”) was gazetted on 29 March 2019. The HKSAR Government stated that one main aim of the Bill was to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) (“FOO”) in relation to special surrender arrangements made between Hong Kong and other places which have not signed formal bilateral agreements with Hong Kong over the surrender of fugitives, so that the arrangements, once made, may be given effect according to the procedures in the FOO and any further protection for the surrender of a person as may be provided for by the arrangements. 14. There have been strong dissenting views to the Bill in the community resulting in mass protest and violent conflicts. In response to the Bill and the conflicts, the Law Society has issued a total of six press statements on concerned issues since June 2019. The Government announced on 4 September 2019 that it would 2 formally withdraw the Bill. 15. The Law Society took the view that the Bill had far-reaching ramifications and required careful and thorough examination, discussion and analysis in a calm, rational and constructive manner with a view to finding a suitable solution for the benefit of Hong Kong as a whole. 16. The Rule of Law is the cornerstone of our society. The legal system of Hong Kong has been renowned for being transparent, trustworthy and fair; ranking well internationally and underpinning Hong Kong's reputation as one of the safest cities in the world. The judicial system of Hong Kong has also gained international trust and confidence in it being independent and fair and adjudicating cases based on the law. 17. As stated in its public statements, the Law Society strongly condemned all forms of unlawful violence and viewed with alarm the open defiance of the court injunctions and unfounded criticisms against the Judiciary, which is an affront to the rule of law. 18. The Law Society is committed to upholding the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary as two of the most important pillars of the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. National Anthem Bill 19. The National Anthem Bill (the “NA Bill”) was gazetted on 11 January 2019. The gazettal of the Bill follows the adoption of decision of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress on 4 November 2017 to add the National Anthem Law to Annex III to the Basic Law. According to the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government has a constitutional obligation to locally promulgate laws that are listed in Annex III to the Basic Law. The NA Bill implements the Law of the People's Republic of China on National Anthem (National Anthem Law) in Hong Kong by local legislation. 20. The Law Society has closely monitored the contents of the NA Bill to ensure that the rights of Hong Kong citizens enshrined under the Basic Law will not be prejudiced. It provided comments on, among other things, the criminalisation of abuses of the national anthem and sets out the following views: the offences of the proposed legislation must be reasonable and proportionate; clearer definitions of words such as “solemnly”, “disrespectful” and “dignity” appearing in the Bill should be provided. As for the time limit for prosecution, the usual 6-month time period as allowed for in the Magistrates Ordinance should be followed. 21. The Bills Committee has completed its scrutiny of the Bill. The Legislative Council will resume the second and third reading of the Bill on a future date to be decided. Legal Aid Scheme 22. Access to Justice as a fundamental human right is protected under the Basic Law of Hong Kong. Legal aid plays a critical role in this regard. The Law Society is keen to see that the legal aid system in Hong Kong is continually improved by way of regular examination of legal aid practices, and continual monitoring and review of policy of the Legal Aid Department ("LAD"). 23. Legal aid in Hong Kong is administered by the LAD under the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme ("OLAS") and the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme ("SLAS"). The SLAS is a self-funding scheme aiming to provide legal aid for the middle class. It 3 is funded by a levy on the damages recovered, i.e. successful legally aided plaintiffs are required to pay back a portion of their recovery of damages as contribution into the fund. 24. The Law Society has been seeking an expansion of the SLAS for the benefits of the public. It has, for example, proposed an expansion of the SLAS to cover the following three types of cases (where the claim is likely to exceed $60,000): (a) claims against incorporated owners of a multi-storey building; (b) claims against independent financial consultants registered under the Securities and Futures Commission and required to have insurance cover; and (c) claims in derivatives of securities, currency of futures or other futures when fraud, misrepresentation or deception was involved at the time of purchase. 25. The above proposal of the Law Society was considered by the Legal Aid Services Council ("LASC") which in July 2016 put forward to the HKSAR Government a set of recommendations on the types of cases for inclusion in the SLAS. 26. After consideration, the HKSAR Government proposed legislative amendments to expand the scope of SLAS to cover civil proceedings in respect of monetary claims (a) for professional negligence against financial intermediaries licensed or registered for Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 2 (dealing in futures contracts) or Type 8 (securities margin financing) regulated activities within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.