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The Legal System

Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) require states parties to submit periodic reports and other information requested to the United Nations (UN) treaty monitoring bodies. With the exception of the ICCPR, which does not apply to Mainland China, the HKSAR submits these reports as part of corresponding reports submitted by China and the HKSAR teams attend hearings of relevant treaty bodies as part of the Chinese delegation. In the case of the ICCPR, the HKSAR delegation attends hearings under the leadership of the Chinese Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the UN. The UN Human Rights Council conducts a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of human rights in all UN member states. The HKSAR submits its report as part of China's report for that review. In March, September and October 2013, HKSAR delegates attended hearings under the ICCPR, CRC and UPR mechanism respectively.

International Treaties and Agreements Applying to the HKSAR

Under the Basic Law, multilateral treaties can apply to the HKSAR. There are approximately 251 such treaties. In certain areas, the HKSAR can conclude its own bilateral agreements and 220 such agreements have been concluded. Lists of these treaties and agreements and the English. texts of the agreements are available on the internet, at www.doj.gov.hk/eng/laws/treaties.html.

Arbitration and Mediation

A main policy objective of the government is to promote Hong Kong as a centre for international legal services and dispute resolution in the Asia Pacific region. The Department of Justice works closely with the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the arbitration and mediation-related bodies in Hong Kong to improve the provision of legal, arbitration and mediation services in Hong Kong, and to promote Hong Kong as a regional centre for legal services and dispute resolution.

HKSAR arbitral awards can be enforced in more than 140 jurisdictions that are parties to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The HKSAR has also entered into arrangements for reciprocal enforcement of arbitral awards with the Mainland and the Macao SAR

In 2011, a new Arbitration Ordinance took effect reforming the arbitration law of Hong Kong on the basis of the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. In 2013, the ordinance was amended to include new provisions for reciprocal enforcement of arbitral awards between the HKSAR and the Macao SAR and for the judicial enforcement of relief granted by an emergency arbitrator before an arbitral tribunal is constituted, in line with the latest arbitration rules of many prominent arbitral institutions.

Three world-class arbitral institutions are established in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre provides advisory and support services for dispute resolution in Hong Kong and the region. The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce has a branch of its Secretariat in Hong Kong, and in September 2012 the China

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