Introduction

I would like to use the opportunity that you have kindly provided today, to talk for a little while about two things: what makes Hong Kong a unique international city from a legal point of view; and the practical steps the Department of Justice is taking to ensure that Hong Kong maintains a high reputation for fulfilling the international commitments that go with its special status.

Background

To everyone in this audience Hong Kong is a uniquely appealing place. Its attractions include the links that we enjoy with places and people abroad. Different individuals will think of the links that are special to them.

For many, there are personal connections; those of us who think of these connections may have one or more members of our family studying or living abroad. It is not unusual to meet a family in Hong Kong, with parents who have retired abroad, and with children who are receiving part of their education in a third country. Add to this the fact that they have friends who have emigrated to a fourth country, and that there are many people who enjoy dual nationality, and we are well into a heady mix of international links.

Then there are links between people at work. Individuals from all corners of the earth live and work in Hong Kong. And many of these foreign nationals have also made Hong Kong their home.

Apart from people, many corporations have set up offices in Hong Kong. For example, the overwhelming majority of the world's leading banks have offices in Hong Kong. Over 2,300 overseas corporations have set up either regional headquarters or regional offices in Hong Kong.

The importance of tourists to Hong Kong's economy is being particularly noticed of late as a temporary downturn in tourist arrivals has occurred. But there can be no doubting the international dimension that tourism adds to the character of Hong Kong.

Our airport and container terminals rank amongst the busiest in the world. These are important in our infrastructure of international links.

All of this is familiar. You will have had speakers address you on previous occasions, who have no doubt made similar points and additional ones, supported by statistics and projections.

But what you may not know is one other thing that will help me to demonstrate that in international terms, Hong Kong is a unique city. Close to 100 countries have set up consular representation in Hong Kong, to look after their interests and the interests of their nationals who might be working or visiting Hong Kong. This strikes me as remarkable. There are, of course, capital cities that have more representatives. And so, presumably, does New York - because New York is the Headquarters of the UN. But amongst cities of the world Hong Kong holds its own in the level at which foreign governments choose to be officially represented.

International Agreements

Let me take one more step in the journey towards understanding Hong Kong's special legal status. Many of the states represented in Hong Kong are parties to multilateral international agreements, on a whole range of subjects. Hong Kong is not, of course, a state; it is a Special Administrative Region of China. But here's the thing. Currently, over 200 multilateral treaties have been extended to the Hong Kong SAR; and 40 per cent of these treaties do not apply in the rest of China.

The treaties that apply to Hong Kong cover a wide range of matters including civil aviation, customs, narcotics, health, human rights, private international law and merchant shipping. All of them are important to Hong Kong and play a vital role in facilitating its legal and commercial links with the international community. So does Hong Kong's participation in a number of international organizations. Hong Kong participates in the World Trade Organization on its own. It also participates in the Asian Development Bank, the World Health Organization, the World Customs Organization, the International Maritime Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization, amongst others.

Now, other cities may have multilateral treaties named after them, or may host the headquarters of international organizations - think of the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation, the Hague Conventions on Private International Law, the New York Convention on Arbitral awards, the London home of the International Maritime Organization and the Geneva headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization - but they do not enjoy "membership" of these international arrangements in the way that Hong Kong does. Furthermore Hong Kong, unlike those and other cities, has its own bilateral international agreements with foreign governments. Few people realise, for example, that Hong Kong has its own network of investment protection and promotion agreements with trading nations.

As of today, Hong Kong has signed with foreign States about 50 agreements on air services, investment protection and promotion, the surrender of fugitive offenders, mutual legal assistance and the transfer of sentenced persons. Negotiations on all these subjects are continuing with other governments and we are looking at the possibility of concluding agreements on other subjects too.

The preservation of these various forms of international links for Hong Kong, far exceeding those enjoyed by other great cities, is provided for under the Basic Law. Everyone is familiar with the proposition that the Basic Law guarantees Hong Kong a "high degree of autonomy". But for those of you who at this point are wondering how the Basic Law reconciles the responsibility for foreign affairs that is given to the Central People's Government, with the matters that I have been referring to, may I recommend a few minutes reading of Chapter VII of the Basic Law. It is very important; it is only 7 Articles long, and it is devoted to the conduct of the Hong Kong SAR's external relations.

One of the most important articles in Chapter VII is Article 151. That Article is particularly relevant to businessmen in Hong Kong. Although foreign affairs are the domain of the Central People's Government of China, Article 151 authorises the Hong Kong SAR to enter into binding international agreements with foreign States and international organizations in the economic, trade, financial and monetary, shipping, communications, tourism, cultural and sport fields, amongst others.

Illustration

How do these kinds of legal arrangements affect the activities and success of people in Hong Kong, particularly businessmen? Let us imagine a hypothetical enterprise in Hong Kong conducting international business. First, if it is exporting to a country which is a member of the World Trade Organization, this would give the benefit of "national treatment" in terms of marketing and distribution of the goods. Our hypothetical businessman would also enjoy a level of tariff and customs facilities accorded on the "most favoured nation" basis. Second, if he wishes to travel abroad to conduct business, the airline taking him to his destination is likely to be exercising a right under Hong Kong's own air services agreements. And the route that the aircraft he travels on may pass through member States of IASTA, the multilateral Convention concerning overflying arrangements. Third, when he concludes a contract with his business partners, he may choose to use arbitration as a means to settle any dispute arising out of the contract. He will be able to do so in the knowledge that under the New York Convention which has been applied to Hong Kong, any arbitration award given in his favour may be enforced in any of the well over 100 countries that are parties to the Convention. Fourth, if unfortunately he has to sue for payment, he may rely on one of the Hague Conventions to serve legal papers abroad. Fifth, if (even more unfortunately) there has been fraud committed against him, he might derive some comfort from the fact that Hong Kong may very well have mutual legal assistance arrangements with the country where the culprits are located, which may assist in bringing them to justice. They may also be extraditable to Hong Kong under one of our agreements.

Mutual Legal Assistance Unit

The Department of Justice is working to implement these arrangements and international legal obligations. We are in contact with governments and international lawyers regularly. And in view of the importance of international co-operation, the Department has also decided to form a team to undertake the legal work relating to international mutual legal assistance. At the Opening of the Legal Year earlier this year, the Secretary for Justice spoke of the establishment of a Mutual Legal Assistance Unit within the Department of Justice. I would like to take this opportunity to say a little more.

The rationale behind the establishment of such a Unit is to set up a central point in the HKSAR to process incoming and outgoing requests for mutual legal assistance. The Mutual Legal Assistance Unit will thus be able to improve coordination and effectiveness in Hong Kong's handling of international legal cooperation. This is not, of course, purely altruism. It will in turn improve Hong Kong's prospects of receiving assistance in the investigation and prosecution of crime here. The Unit, which will be a part of the International Law Division, will become operative shortly and will initially be responsible for work relating to -

* the surrender of fugitive offenders;

* assistance in the investigation and prosecution of crime (including the restraining and confiscation of the proceeds of crime);

* the transfer of prisoners.

To date, agreements on the surrender of fugitive offenders have been signed with the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, the USA, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Negotiations with other jurisdictions are also being conducted.

Agreements in relation to the reciprocal provision of legal assistance in criminal matters have been signed with Australia, France, the USA and the UK, and others are ready to be signed or are under negotiations. Such mutual legal assistance covers the service of documents; obtaining evidence, including articles, exhibits and documents; executing requests for search and seizure; facilitating the personal appearance of witnesses, including arranging for the temporary transfer of prisoners to appear as witnesses; producing official or judicial records; and tracing, restraining, forfeiting and confiscating the proceeds of crime.

The question arises: how is the work of a unit dedicated to providing international help for catching criminals and relieving them of their ill-gotten gains relevant to businessmen in Hong Kong today? After all, you're not engaged in drug-trafficking, money-laundering or fraud. However, if Hong Kong did not continue to tackle these crimes successfully, and in an international framework, your companies would start paying the price. The argument is not simply that Hong Kong must not become a haven for criminals nor even that these measures enhance your protection.

Today there is a further dimension. In this global village that we live in, a place's reputation is built on effective collaboration to root out organised crime and corruption. When Hong Kong is considered as a potential partner, as a potential venue for investment, for joint-ventures, for advice, for services, how do we rate ? One of the criteria our overseas partners will consider is what kind of a legal system we offer.

Rightly, when that question is asked, the reply is: "we offer as good a legal system as any in the region; we compete well on a world-wide basis". In order to keep that reputation, and indeed in order to enhance it, we have to equip our law enforcement authorities to be as fully effective as possible. The Mutual Legal Assistance Unit will play an important part in that task.

Conclusion

I hope that in the course of these brief remarks I have been able to underline the fact that the "one country two systems" concept has given a unique status to Hong Kong, particularly its own identity in the conclusion of international legal arrangements. This has been by no means a simple feat, but is an attribute of Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy that has been accepted by the international community.

On our part, the establishment of the MLA Unit will enable the Department of Justice to demonstrate that the Hong Kong SAR Government is fully committed to meet the challenge in the area of international legal co-operation at a time when cross border crimes are on the rise and the international links that are valued by us all are also used by international criminals to evade detection.

May I conclude by saying thank you, again, for giving me this opportunity to talk about international legal developments that make Hong Kong such a unique place.