Speech by SJ at Law Society of Hong Kong's Pro Bono and Community Service Award Presentation Ceremony 2025
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the Law Society of Hong Kong's Pro Bono and Community Service Award Presentation Ceremony 2025 today (December 12):
Chief Justice (Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Andrew Cheung), President of the Law Society (President of the Law Society of Hong Kong, Mr Roden Tong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. I am very honoured to join you here today at the Law Society Pro Bono and Community Service Award Ceremony 2025. This is an important annual event that I never miss. I would like to begin by extending my warmest congratulations to all the awardees.
In the present context, the Latin phrase "pro bono publico" means "providing free legal services for the public good", in particular for those who cannot afford legal representation. As we all know, an essential element of the rule of law is that justice should be accessible to all. Access to justice is indeed a fundamental human right guaranteed by Article 35 of the Basic Law. However, in practice, access to justice will only be effective and meaningful if legal representation is available to all, but not just those who can afford instructing lawyers. This is why legal aid and pro bono legal services are essential to the maintenance of the rule of law.
I am pleased to say that, in Hong Kong, we have a very strong tradition of providing legal aid and pro bono legal services. The response of the legal sector to the tragic fire in Tai Po provides the best evidence. To begin with, I must pay tribute to the Law Society's swift action in establishing the temporary panel under the Emergency Free Legal Helpline for Tai Po Tragic Fire to provide preliminary free legal advice to the public. On the other hand, the Legal Aid Department announced two days ago that it has established a dedicated task force and will implement a series of support measures to assist residents and other affected persons in applying for legal aid in accordance with the statutory requirements to handle litigation and related matters. Solicitors on the legal aid panel will be heavily involved in due course. In addition, the Judiciary has also announced that all potential legal proceedings, including probate proceedings, relating to the incident will be handled with priority and expeditiously through a series of facilitative measures. At this difficult time, the whole legal sector, including lawyers and judges, are standing together with the victims and all those affected. I would strongly encourage all those in need to make use of the legal services that I have just mentioned.
Turning to community service, its scope is, of course, very wide. But I would like to highlight one particular type of community service which depends on lawyers and those who are legally trained. And that is rule of law education. To enhance the general public's awareness and general knowledge about the rule of law, and our legal and judicial system, is of crucial importance. In this respect, the Law Society has always been an invaluable partner to the Department of Justice.
We are extremely grateful to the Law Society for its most helpful input and dedicated support, from providing constructive and practical ideas to assist in the formulation of our rule-of-law education programmes, to providing experienced and passionate members to serve as speakers and group leaders in seminars and mock trial activities that we organised as part of our rule-of-law education programmes. Without the staunch support of the Law Society, our programmes could not have been successful.
Ladies and gentlemen, the provision of pro bono and community service ensures that the practice of law is not merely a means to enable lawyers to make a living. It enables lawyers to contribute in the building of a more fair and just society based on the rule of law, which indeed should be the ultimate objective of practicing law.
The awards to be presented today not only serve as a recognition to the services provided by well-deserved members but also an encouragement to other members to take part. On this note, may I conclude by extending my congratulations to all the awardees once again. Thank you.
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Speech by SJ at Law Society of Hong Kong's Pro Bono and Community Service Award Presentation Ceremony 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Source: AI-found images
Government establishes Independent Committee in relation to fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po
The Government has established today (December 12) an Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Mr Justice David Lok has been appointed as the Chairman, and Mr Chan Kin-por and Dr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen have been appointed as Members.
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, is extremely concerned about the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po, which resulted in multiple casualties, and announced on December 2 that an independent committee led by a judge would be established to review the causes of the incident and related issues to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The Terms of Reference of the Independent Committee are:
(1) Regarding the fire broken out at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, its rapid spread and the resulting casualties and property damage, to examine –
the causes and circumstances that led to the fire; the fire service installations and equipment in the buildings, and the supervision and responsibility for their effective operation; whether the construction safety requirements, standards, supervision and day-to-day maintenance regime for the building maintenance and renovation works were adequate; regarding the building maintenance and renovation works, whether the prevailing list of materials meeting safety standards is comprehensive, and whether the related verification and testing systems are effective; the roles and responsibilities of personnel with supervisory roles across all stages (including government officers, authorised professionals, contractors and others); and the liabilities arising from the aforementioned issues.
(2) Regarding large-scale building maintenance and renovation works, to examine –
whether there were systemic problems such as undue connected interests, conflicts of roles, or improper collusion across all stages of the works; and whether bid-rigging corruption, or irregularities were involved in the tendering process of these works.
(3) Regarding the two matters above, to examine whether regulation and penalties under relevant existing laws are adequate; and
(4) To make recommendations regarding matters in items (1) to (3) above.
The Independent Committee will formally commence operation in late December, with a view to completing its work within nine months of commencing operations. If the Independent Committee considers appropriate, it may publish interim report(s) at different stages, and provide recommendations to the Chief Executive. All the reports and recommendations made by the Independent Committee will be disclosed to the public (except for information which may involve judicial proceedings). Issues concerning legal liabilities of those involved in the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26, 2025 are matters for law enforcement agencies’ investigation. Such matters fall outside the scope of the Committee.
If in the course of its review work, the Independent Committee is of the view that, in order to conduct inquiry into specific issues or aspects, it is necessary to be provided with the same statutory powers as those of a commission of inquiry established under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance (Cap. 86), the Independent Committee may make recommendation to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive-in-Council may, upon consideration, decide to enable the Independent Committee to become a statutory commission of inquiry for matters relevant to those issues or aspects pursuant to the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance, to exercise those powers.
Brief biographies of the Chairman and Members of the Independent Committee are as follows:
Chairman
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Mr Justice David Lok is a Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court. He obtained his LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1987 and 1988 respectively. He further obtained a Master of Laws Degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom in 1989. He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1988 and was in private practice between 1990 and 1995. He joined the Judiciary as Permanent Magistrate in 1995. He was appointed as District Judge in 2001 and Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2015. He was responsible for setting up the intellectual property list in the High Court and he is now the judge in charge of the list. He is the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, and he had also served on the District Court Rules Committee, the Municipal Services Appeals Board and the Public Complaints Committee of the Hospital Authority.
Members
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Mr Chan Kin-por is a Member of the Executive Council, Legislative Council (LegCo) Member for four terms, Member of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Chairman of Independent Commission Against Corruption Advisory Committee on Corruption, Non-executive Director of Urban Renewal Authority Board, Director of CUHK Medical Centre and Member of Honours and Non-official Justices of the Peace Selection Committee. He has extensive experience in the financial industry in particular banking and insurance sectors, and was Chairman of numerous insurance organisations and associations such as the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers and the Chinese Insurance Association of Hong Kong. He was previously Vice Chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Council and a Director of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, and was a member of the LegCo Subcommittee to Study Issues Arising from Lehman related Minibonds and Structured Products for four years. He was the Chairman of the Owners’ Committee of a large housing estate for nine years and is familiar with property management operations and relevant legislation.
Dr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen is the Non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the MTR Corporation Limited, and a Member of the Hospital Authority Board. He was a Member of the Independent Review Committee on Hong Kong’s Franchised Bus Service, Chairman of the Principal Financial Group – Asia, and Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University. He was also a member of the Investment-linked Assurance and Pooled Retirement Funds Committee of the Securities and Futures Commission.
Source: AI-found images
