with about 50 practising foreign lawyers, and with another 50 expected to be approved soon. While it is true that these foreign firms are equally banned at this time from forming partnerships with Japanese lawyers, predictions are that with the passage of time and with experience gained from the operation of these foreign firms, such partnerships or employee relationships may also be permitted. In any event, it is difficult to see why standards should drop through such arrangements, as the Hong Kong Law Society alleges.
It certainly also appears to be a wild exaggeration to say, as the Law Society does, that Government is now trying to legalise what was previously a criminal activity, namely to practise local law without being qualified. This is definitely not being proposed. My personal conviction that competition improves rather than lowers standards in all instances - be it in aviation, shipping, or in the provision of legal services - is unshaken, and the claim that the independence of the whole legal profession and the rule of law would be undermined by the proposed measures is ludicrous. Not having proper statutory standards clearly set out for the admission and practice of foreign lawyers is more likely to have those effects. In any event, the locally-qualified solicitors would remain under the disciplinary control of the Law Society even when working in a foreign law firm. And that discipline is pretty tight: for example, the Law Society's internal censorship guidelines may not be widely known in public but are very effectively applied.
The Hong Ko..g legal profession collectively thus does not project a keenness to promote Hong Kong's status as an international commercial centre. This was in evidence also in connection with arbitration. Although a great effort has gone into the establishment of an International Arbitration Centre in the territory, attempts were initially made to disallow foreign lawyers to represent parties before arbitral tribunals. These fortunately did not succeed. Lately the Law Society has been recommending that the UNCITRAL Model Law for International Commercial Arbitrations be adopted in Hong Kong, but only on the basis of the parties specifically having to "opt-in". I will not bore you with the technical details but let me assure you that this idea would to a large extent defeat the purpose of the Model Law enactment. It again shows a parochial bias vis-a-vis attempts to internationalise Hong Kong's position in the provision of new services and to let it become a front-runner in new developments.
Hong Kong needs to attract more international business, it has to become even more outward-looking as 1997 approaches, and it will only find
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