RESTRICTED
(b) foreign lawyers and foreign law firms will be protected against any arbitrary refusal by the Law Society to register them, since it is intended that the statutory scheme governing the registration of foreign lawyers and foreign law firms will comprehensively set out the registration criteria; and
(c)
when the Report was circulated in draft in July 1991, there were no adverse comments on this aspect.
XCR(92)11
Admission of Non-Hong Kong Qualified Lawyers
19
At present, the Ordinance restricts the admission of solicitors to locally qualified residents, or solicitors qualified in the United Kingdom. Admission is also open on a restricted basis to persons who have been legal officers in the public service and to teachers of the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws programme at the Hong Kong University or City Polytechnic.
20
The "Scheme for the Admission of Non-Hong Kong Qualified Lawyers" (Annex B) proposes to replace the existing restrictions on the admission of qualified foreign lawyers, with objective, non-discriminatory and competency based criteria in order to assess their qualifications and experience for admission as Hong Kong solicitors. The conditions for admission will be based upon the foreign lawyer's training and experience in the common law. The Law Society would administer a Transfer Test to ensue that all foreign lawyers (whether from a common law or non-common law jurisdiction) will be competent to practise Hong Kong law. The scheme will apply to all foreign lawyers, including United Kingdom solicitors, who are presently automatically admitted to practise Hong Kong law.
RECOMMENDATION
21
These Reports represent a very large step forward by the Law Society and, in broad terms, are acceptable. They are in accord with Government's policy objective of ensuring that Hong Kong offers persons doing business in Hong Kong multi-jurisdictional legal advice. The Reports, if adopted by us, will enhance Hong Kong's position as a leading regional centre for finance and legal advice.
Executive Council