A lawmaker says the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) will further consolidate Hong Kong's position as a legal and dispute resolution services centre, in line with the objectives of the city's inaugural Five-Year Plan.

Nick Chan, a solicitor who represents the legal sector, noted the number of signatory states for the organisation has exceeded 40, with 14 of them being contracting states.

"With IOMed being established and coming to fruition, it shows the whole world that as people around the world unite, practitioners, professionals unite, we have provided a platform to export Asia's excellence, China's excellence in terms of resolving disputes peacefully, creatively, innovatively," he said.

Chan added Hong Kong's pool of cross-discipline talent makes it an ideal place to mediate disputes.

"Often if you want to resolve disputes, you need people who understand different cultural issues, legal issues, as far as industry-specific norms," he explained.

"So as we grow, as the world grows – different economic sectors, AI, advanced manufacturing, data science, life sciences – you need people from different walks of life, different parts of the world who have a cross-discipline knowledge, and Hong Kong is the place to be."

He said the industry, like others, has to keep up with the times by adopting technology, or LawTech, to better cater to evolving situations and remain competitive.

"When we talk about LawTech, people often just think about how to make the practice of law more efficient. But we should also be developing new leaders of the world, train new lawyers of the world to understand the law of tech, and the tech of law," Chan said.



Edited by Raymond Yeung