Page 6 - 月刊 2024第3期 7月

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive summary

On July 1, 2017, President Xi Jinping personally witnessed in Hong Kong the signing of the “Framework
Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Bay Area” by

the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong
and Macao, which kicked off the promotion of the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater

Bay Area (“GBA”) at a national level.
In February 2019, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and The State Council issued the

“Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, which clearly proposed “to
expedite the development of the legal services industry, …expand pilot areas for Guangdong, Hong Kong and

Macao law firms to operate in the form of partnership associations, study matters relating to practice qualification
and scope of practice for Hong Kong and Macao legal practitioners in the nine Pearl River Delta (“PRD”)

municipalities, set up a multi-faceted dispute resolution mechanism”.
In September 2021, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and The State Council

successively promulgated the “Master Plan for the Development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation
Zone in Hengqin” and the “Plan for Comprehensive Deepening Reform and Opening Up of the Qianhai

Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone”, symbolising the in-depth promotion of the
development of the GBA.

On September 28, 2023, with the consent of the State Council, the General Office of the State Council
published the “Pilot Measures for Hong Kong and Macao Legal Practitioners to Obtain Mainland Practice

Qualifications and to Practise as Lawyers in the Nine Mainland Municipalities in the GBA”, which came into
effect on October 5, 2023, further promoting the opening up of legal services in the GBA.

In the new stage of the development of the GBA, we conducted a survey on legal services industry in the
GBA and the status of Hong Kong legal practitioners in the GBA, to explore the status and roles of Hong Kong

legal practitioners in the development of the GBA, and to put forward recommendations conducive to the starting
up of business by Hong Kong legal practitioners in the GBA.

Based on the data obtained from the survey of GBA law firms, Hong Kong local law firms, judicial
departments and organisations and clients in the GBA, the survey report consists of five parts. Part Ⅰ introduces

the macro-environment of the GBA and the current status of the legal profession in the area. Part Ⅱ summarises
and analyses the status quo and cooperation basis of Hong Kong legal practitioners in the GBA. Part Ⅲ mainly

analyses the obstacles faced by Hong Kong legal practitioners in entering the GBA and collaborating with

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