Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said on Monday the SAR would introduce legislative amendments next year that allow the digitisation of trade documents as part of measures to boost cross-border digital trade among businesses.

He made the remarks at the sixth edition of the Uncitral Asia Pacific Judicial Summit 2025 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, which also marks the start of this year's Hong Kong Legal Week. Uncitral stands for the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.

Addressing some 50 judges from over 25 jurisdictions at the summit, Lam said digitisation of the entire trade process was crucial to create a harmonised legal environment.

"We have applied and implemented quite a number of Uncitral texts, ranging from conventions to model laws in various areas," he told participants.

"Very soon, as announced in the chief executive's Policy Address this year, Hong Kong would introduce legislative amendments in 2026 for digitalisation of business-to-business trade documents with reference to the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records adopted by Uncitral," he noted, with Chief Executive John Lee announcing the plan to do so in September.

Lam also noted that the SAR is working closely with Uncitral on "capacity building", especially in addressing climate-related issues and global trade.

"With our strong legal foundation and international connectivity, Hong Kong is dedicated to serving as a super connector and capacity building hub in order to facilitate legal and economic collaboration across the region and beyond," he said.

The week-long event, Lam added, would also feature panel discussions among judges and judicial professionals on how to handle disputes involving artificial intelligence technology.

Uncitral secretary Anna Joubin-Bret noted that digitisation of trade and finance was especially useful for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

"As all aspects of trade are now being digitalised, the importance of developing a dynamic, harmonised, cross-border legal framework cannot be overstated," she said.

"The certainty afforded by global standards is universally enjoyed by jurisdictions, large and small, and decreases the risk and the transactional costs associated with doing business, especially for MSMEs, which account for 97 percent of all businesses across the Asia-Pacific region," she added.

Tian Ya, deputy director general of the department of treaty and law at the Ministry of Commerce, pointed to the rapid development of the digital industry in China, as seen in the case of AI leaps made by DeepSeek and gaming advancements such as in the Black Myth: Wukong video game.

He said legislating digitisation would help promote e-commerce and was in line with China's new 15th Five-Year Plan, which also calls for innovative digital trade.

Tian also noted that the country placed a great emphasis on creating a legal framework for digital governance and had recently added a section dedicated to electronic transport records in its newly revised Maritime Law.

Themed "The Future is Now: Legally Enabling Digitalization of International Trade", the summit was also attended by judges online from regions such as Asean, central Asia and Pacific Islands.

The Hong Kong Legal Week, for its part, runs from Monday to Friday.