Sun Jin, director-general at the preparatory office of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed), told a forum on Friday that the centre is seeking lawyers who are skilled in legal dispute resolution from participating member states.
“[The organisation] will take the lead to enhance the global mediation ecosystem by collaboration, cooperation and capacity building to increase mediation awareness and expand the pool of skilled mediators, in particular, from the Global South,” he said.
Leading judges and politicians also lauded the IOMed’s formation, saying it sends a strong message to the world on the importance of cooperation in face of current geopolitics.
On the sidelines of the discussions, former justice secretary Teresa Cheng told reporters that she expects more countries to join the organisation.
She also said the body’s formation is “already a very important step” for Hong Kong.
“The fact that it’s an international organisation established by treaties shows the importance on an international level,” Cheng said.
“It will bring about more people focusing on the developments of Hong Kong, and also importantly, allowing Hong Kong to promote mediation and of course to administer mediation through the auspices of the International Organisation for Mediation.”
Jose-Antonio Maurellet, who chairs the Hong Kong Bar Association, said while the city’s dispute-resolution professionals are mainly skilled in commercial and family conflicts, the pool of practitioners is sufficient to provide support for the new mediation body.
“For these types of mediation, the skills, the background required may be slightly different,” said Maurellet, who’s also a corporate law specialist.
“But we’re quite confident there’s a lot of domestic talent. At the same time, it’s quite easy actually for international talent to come to Hong Kong. In so far as arbitration and litigation are concerned, we have seen a lot of overseas, very able lawyers relocate to Hong Kong.”
