Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 Concludes with Successful Lawyers Forum and LawTech Conference

Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 concludes

The first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Lawyers Forum and the LawTech Conference were successfully held today (December 5), marking the conclusion of Hong Kong Legal Week 2025, an annual event of the Department of Justice (DoJ). The five-day event attracted approximately 6 000 registrants from nearly 50 jurisdictions, participating both online and offline. This fully demonstrated Hong Kong's leading position as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region with the unique advantages of the common law system under the "one country, two systems" principle.

The first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Lawyers Forum, themed "GBA Connectivity: Setting Sail for Global Horizons", was held in the morning, with prominent legal experts from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland sharing their insights on cross-boundary collaboration and future development for GBA lawyers.

In the afternoon, the highlight of the Hong Kong LawTech Fest - LawTech Conference "The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century" - was held. The conference featured multiple sessions, including a keynote speech, an interactive "LawTech Guess Who" segment, and the "LexGoTech Roundtable Series - 2025 Final Round", which deepened the industry's understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented by lawtech and artificial intelligence.

Addressing the conference, the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, said that the DoJ is steadfast in its commitment to foster innovation and the integration of technology in the legal industry. To this end, it has established the Consultation Group on Lawtech Development, and organised the LexGoTech Roundtable Series and the inaugural LawTech Fest. He said that while lawtech and AI enhance the efficiency of legal services, they cannot replace the indispensable human elements of legal professionals, such as empathy, judgment, and integrity. Only with an open and responsible mindset will the legal sector be able to grasp the opportunities brought by lawtech and AI and transform the challenges into benefits.

The LexGoTech Roundtables Report was released during the Roundtable Series, which summarises the insights shared by the legal and dispute resolution sectors on lawtech at the first three rounds of LexGoTech Roundtables held this year. The report emphasised the sectors' recognition of the potential of lawtech in transforming legal services, the importance of incorporating ethical considerations into the application of lawtech, and their support for the responsible application and development of lawtech in the long run.

In his closing remarks, the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, said that the Policy Address this year emphasised the Government's strong commitment to step up the promotion of AI as a core industry for Hong Kong's development. In this connection, apart from actively promoting the integration of lawtech and AI in the legal sector, the DoJ will establish an interdepartmental working group by the end of this year to co-ordinate the responsible bureaux in reviewing the relevant legislation, so as to support and complement the development of and need for wider application of AI in Hong Kong.

The DoJ will continue to organise various activities to facilitate exchanges among experts, practitioners, government officials, and academics from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and different jurisdictions, with an aim of promoting Hong Kong's legal and dispute resolution services and consolidating its leading position as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific.

Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 concludes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 concludes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 concludes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 concludes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 concludes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CFS urges public not to consume two batches of cheese suspected to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 5) urged the public not to consume two batches of cheese imported from Italy due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The trade should stop using or selling the affected batches of the product immediately if they possess any of them.

Product details are as follows:

Product name: Raclette Sapin Vert 6.5kg

Batch numbers/use-by dates:

(1) 155121504/December 15, 2025; and

(2) 1551222/December 22, 2025

Importer: Bright View Trading Hong Kong Limited

"The CFS received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Commission that the above-mentioned batches of the product are being recalled due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. Upon learning of the incident, the CFS immediately contacted local importers to follow up. A preliminary investigation found that the above-mentioned importer had imported into Hong Kong the affected batches of the product concerned," a spokesman for the CFS said.

The importer concerned has stopped sales and removed from shelves the affected batches of the product and has initiated a recall according to the CFS's instructions. Enquiries can be made to the importer's hotline at 3860 1906 during office hours.

"Listeria monocytogenes can be easily destroyed by cooking but can survive and multiply at refrigerator temperatures. Most healthy individuals do not develop symptoms or only have mild symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea when infected. However, severe complications such as septicaemia, meningitis or even death may occur in newborns, the elderly and those with a weaker immune system. Although infected pregnant women may just experience mild symptoms generally, the infection of Listeria monocytogenes may cause miscarriage, infant death, preterm birth, or severe infection in newborns," the spokesman added.

"In order to reduce the risk of listeriosis, susceptible populations such as pregnant women should consume freshly prepared hot food where possible, reheat chilled food until it is hot all the way through, and avoid high-risk foods, including ready-to-eat food such as cold cuts, cold smoked seafood, soft cheeses, salads, etc, or cook them thoroughly before consumption, even if they are presented as part of a dish."

The spokesman advised members of the public to stop consuming the affected batches of the product and seek medical treatment if they feel unwell after consuming the product concerned.

​The CFS has alerted the trade to the incident, and will continue to follow up and take appropriate action. The investigation is ongoing.

Source: AI-found images