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Letters | More clarity needed on Hong Kong’s continued status as global legal services hub
- Not having basic data ready to share and ignoring requests from the public for information is no way to promote Hong Kong to the wider world
We refer to the letter from Stephen Phillips expressing his optimism on the city’s status as an international legal services centre (“Hong Kong stands tall as global legal services hub and business magnet”, March 1).
As a teacher and a student at the Baptist University, we are investigating how the introduction of the national security law could affect Hong Kong’s status as an international dispute resolution centre, as part of a General Education course on public policies.
Citing the Code on Access to Information, we contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Hong Kong government to seek information on the total number of cases processed by various arbitration institutions that are listed on its website. Regrettably, the department claimed it did not possess such information, even though the secretary for justice cited the number of cases administered by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre in a letter to the editor in the Financial Times.
How can the DOJ promote the arbitration services of Hong Kong without having such basic data? The staff at the department also disregarded our questions about the impact of the national security law and our request for the reports of the Advisory Committee on Promotion of Arbitration.
We urge the government to be more transparent about this matter and to better engage members of the public for constructive conversations on how to promote Hong Kong as a global legal services hub.
Khaliq Martin, student, and Dr Simon Wang, lecturer in English, Baptist University
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