City University of Hong Kong (CityU) School of Law held a closing ceremony on 29 January to conclude the Second Advanced Programme for Chinese Senior Judges. Thirty-four Chinese judges were presented with graduation certificates.

The programme was organised by the CityU School of Law in collaboration with the National Judges College of the Supreme People’s Court of China. Held twice a year, the programme is an intensive course customised to give Chinese judges a profound understanding of the common law system and other international legal concepts.

The 34 senior judges came from 27 provinces and cities in mainland China and were nominated to participate in the programme from 8 January to 29 January in Hong Kong. They met with the Hon Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang and visited the High Court, Department of Justice, Legal Aid Department, ICAC, Office of the Ombudsman, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong. They also attended the ceremonial opening of Legal Year 2010. It is a unique experience for the judges to exchange views with judicial personnel in Hong Kong.

Professor Wang Guiguo, Dean of School of Law, presented the graduation certificates to each of the judges during the closing ceremony. Mr Tian Chengyou, Vice President of Yunnan Province Higher People’s Court, was nominated by his class peers to deliver closing remarks on behalf of all programme participants.

Officiating guests at the ceremony included Mr Feng Wei, Director-General of Department of Law, Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Ms Zhang Honghong, Director-General of Department of Treaties and Laws of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR; Mr Michael Wong, Partner of Philip K H Wong, Kennedy Y H Wong & Co; The Hon Justice Wally Yeung Chun-kuen, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court; Mr Wong Kwai-huen, President of The Law Society of Hong Kong; Mr Zhuang Zhongxi, General Manager of China Legal Service (HK) Limited; Professor Horace Ip Ho-shing, Acting Vice-President (Research & Technology) and Acting Dean of Graduate Studies, CityU and Professor Wang Guiguo.

Professor Wang was proud of the success of the legal programme. “The programme is unique as it combines classroom lectures with visits to judicial institutions and law enforcement agencies. We are grateful to the Philip K H Wong Foundation and Philip K H Wong, Kennedy Y H Wong & Co for contributions that made the programme possible.”

Aimed at widening the exposure of senior Chinese judges, the programme not only created a forum for legal exchange between two jurisdictions, it brought together senior judicial personnel from different mainland provinces and cities to Hong Kong to interact with each other.