City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and National Judges College on 29 February hold an agreement signing ceremony for “LLM programme for mainland judges” at the PRC's Supreme Court in Beijing. CityU will become the only judge training base outside mainland China assisting the National Judges College in the provision of advanced legal training for serving judges.

Professor Richard Ho Yan-ki, Acting President of CityU, said, “The Supreme Court of the PRC is the top judicial institution. As a unit of the Supreme Court, the National Judges College is responsible for the training

of judges and study of judicial cases. In just ten years, it has grown from an amateur law school and judge training centre to a modern, organised and professional law institution. It is the alma mater of senior judges with branch units in all 26 provinces, cities and autonomous regions of the mainland.”

“CityU will not only enhance the legal knowledge of mainland judges but also help them understand the viewpoints and practices of international legal systems. Mainland judges will have the opportunity to improve their level of professionalism to better serve China's civil and economic development,” said Professor Ho.

Mr Wan Exiang, Vice-President of the Supreme People's Court, expressed his delight with the collaboration and thanked CityU for providing training for mainland judges. “CityU is a renowned international tertiary institution and it is also an institution recognised by the Ministry of Education,” said Mr Wan. “The School of Law at CityU excels with its strong team of outstanding academics and its comprehensive experience in providing training services. The LLM programmes for mainland judges reflect the objective of sharing education resources and revamping the training programmes of the Supreme Court of the PRC.”

This is the first time the Supreme Court of the PRC and National Judges College have collaborated with an academic institution to provide training for mainland judges at the Master's degree level. In this collaboration with

the National Judges College, CityU's School of Law will design several customised Master's degree courses for as many as 30 judges selected and recommended by the College under the advice of the Supreme People's Court. CityU will arrange for the students to enrol in courses at prestigious institutions in the United States and United Kingdom for one month.

In addition, the School signed another agreement for “Advanced legal training for mainland senior judges”, with a view to providing judiciary training. The one-month course will be held once or twice a year, with 30 to 35 senior judges selected and recommended by the National Judges College participating in the course in Hong Kong.