Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Legal Forum 2023: Building a Rule of Law-based Bay Area and Creating New Prospects for Development
On July 28, 2023, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Legal Forum 2023 was held with great fanfare at City University of Hong Kong, attracting numerous legal experts, scholars, and decision-makers from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The conference theme was "Building a Rule of Law-based Bay Area and Creating New Prospects for Development," aiming to explore ways to strengthen the rule of law in the Greater Bay Area's development, promote regional growth, and build a brighter future.
The opening ceremony commenced at 9 a.m., where Professor Lee Chun Sing, the Provost and Deputy President of City University of Hong Kong, and Professor LIN Feng, the Dean of the School of Law participating online, delivered the welcoming speeches.
After the opening ceremony, the Decision-Makers Forum commenced at 9:20 a.m. Professor ZHU Guobin (professor at the School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, Director of the Public Law and Human Rights Forum). The Forum first invited important guests, including Mr. Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan (Deputy Director of the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and Chairman of the Special Task Force for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area), MS. Leung Wing Yin (Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government), Ms. Eunice Yung Hoi-yan（the Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Promoting the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.）Mr. Victor Dawes SC (Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association), Mr. CHAN CHAK MING (President of the Hong Kong Bar Association), Professor MO Jihong (Director of the Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Dean of the School of Law at the University), as well as Dr. Bian Fei (President of the People's Court of the Qianhai Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen). These distinguished guests delivered fascinating speeches on important topics such as the rule of law construction and cooperative development in the Greater Bay Area.
Subsequently, the conference proceeded to the first session, "Building a Rule of Law-based Bay Area," moderated by Professor MO Jihong (Director of the Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Dean of the University's Faculty of Law). This session featured speeches from 7 expert scholars from different universities and research institutions, covering research findings on various aspects of legal cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, including theories and practices, legal integration, legal challenges, and approaches.
The second session, "Achieving Rule Convergence in the Greater Bay Area," was moderated by Professor DU Chengming (Professor and Vice President of Guangdong University of Technology). This session primarily focused on exploring the path, research, and comparative study of regional approaches to rule convergence in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It sparked in-depth discussions and exchanges among the attending expert scholars.
After a lunch break, the third session, "Deepening Judicial Cooperation in the Greater Bay Area," began. It was moderated by Professor ZOU Pingxue (Director and Professor of the Hong Kong and Macao Basic Law Research Center at Shenzhen University). In this session, expert scholars discussed topics such as the research on the integration of the Mainland and Hong Kong's mutual legal assistance system in the Greater Bay Area, the path choices for reforming foreign-related commercial jurisdiction in the Qianhai area of Shenzhen, and the handling of parallel civil and commercial litigation involving Hong Kong and Macao. They also provided valuable suggestions for enhancing judicial cooperation in the Greater Bay Area.
The fourth session, "Enhancing the Level of Legal Service Industry Cooperation," was moderated by Professor GUO Tianwu (Professor at the School of Law, Sun Yat-sen University, and Vice President of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Development Institute). This session discussed topics related to the legal mechanisms for cooperation in the Greater Bay Area's legal service industry, as well as the development of mechanisms for regional legal service integration. The participants conducted in-depth discussions on the future development direction of the legal service industry in the Greater Bay Area.
Finally, the fifth session, "Accelerating the Comprehensive Construction of the Greater Bay Area," was chaired by Professor YANG Xiaonan (professor at the School of Law, Sun Yat-sen University). Expert scholars conducted research and delivered 
speeches on various topics, including constitutional considerations for the rule of law construction in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the current status and issues of social integration, and the rule of law approaches for cross-border flow of personal health data.
The forum concluded at 6:40 p.m., with Professor GUO Tianwu (Professor at the School of Law, Sun Yat-sen University, and Vice President of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Development Institute), and Professor ZHU Guobin, co-hosting the closing and appreciation session. They highly praised the achievements of the forum and expressed gratitude to all participants for their attention and support for the rule of law construction in the Greater Bay Area
2023 年 7 月 28 日，粵港澳大灣區法律論壇 2023 在香港城市大學隆重舉行，吸引 了來自內地、香港、澳門以及的眾多法學領域專家學者和決策者。會議主題為「打造 法治灣區，開創發展新局面」，旨在探討如何在粵港澳大灣區建設中加強法治建設， 促進區域發展，共創美好未來。
開幕式于早上 9 時正式開始，香港城市大學首席及常務副校長李振聲教授以及線 上參會的法學院院長林峰教授發表了開幕辭。
開幕式過後，決策者論壇於上午 9 點 20 分開始。主持人是香港城市大學法學院教授、公法與人權論壇主任朱國斌教授。論壇首先邀請到重要嘉賓：香港特別行政區政府律政司副司長、粵港澳大灣區專責小組主席張國鈞先生、澳門特別行政區政府法務 局局長梁穎妍女士、香港特別行政區立法會議員兼立法會促進粵港澳大灣區發展事宜 小組委員會主席容海恩女士，以及中國社會科學院法學研究所所長、中國社會科學院大學法學院院長莫紀宏教授、香港特別行政區律師會會長陳澤銘先生、香港特別行政 區大律師公會主席杜淦堃先生，以及深圳市前海合作區人民法院院長卞飛博士（由劉哲法官代爲綫上發言）。各位嘉賓就大灣區法治建設及合作發展等重要議題發表了精彩演講。
隨後，會議進入第一節「打造法治灣區」，由中國社會科學院法學研究所所長、中國社會科學院大學法學院院長莫紀宏教授擔任主持人。此節目包含了來自不同高校與研究機構的 7 位專家學者的發言，涵蓋了粵港澳大灣區法治合作的理論與實踐、法制融合、法律困境與途徑等方面的研究成果。
第二節「實現大灣區規則銜接」，由廣東工業大學教授、副校長杜承銘教授擔任主持人。這一節主要聚焦於探討粵港澳大灣區規則銜接的路徑探索、研究以及各地區方案的比較研究等內容，引發了與會專家學者的深入探討與交流。
午餐休息後，第三節「深化大灣區司法合作」開始。由深圳大學港澳基本法研究中心主任、教授鄒平學教授擔任主持人。專家學者們在這一節探討了粵港澳大灣區內地與香港區際送達制度銜接研究、深圳前海探索改革涉外商事管轄權的路徑選擇、涉港澳民商事平行訴訟的處置等議題，並對大灣區司法合作提出了寶貴的建議。
第四節「提升法律服務業合作水準」，由中山大學法學院教授、粵港澳發展研究院副院長郭天武教授擔任主持人。此節目討論了大灣區法律服務業合作的法律機制、區際法律服務融合的機制發展等議題，對於大灣區法律服務業的未來發展方向進行了深入探討。
最後，第五節「加速全面建設大灣區進程」由中山大學法學院教授楊曉楠教授主持，專家學者們分別就粵港澳大灣區法治建設的憲法思考、社會融合現狀和問題、個人健康資料跨境流動的法治途徑等問題進行了研究與發言。
論壇在晚上 6 時 40 分結束，由中山大學法學院教授、粵港澳發展研究院副院長郭天武教授進行會與總結，之後由香港城市大學法學院教授朱國斌教授代表主辦方和協辦方向現場和網上參會者致答謝辭。他們對本次論壇取得的成果表示高度讚揚，並感謝所有參與者對粵港澳大灣區法治建設的關注和支持。
在論壇的各個環節中，各位嘉賓和發言人圍繞粵港澳大灣區法治建設的理論與實踐、法律困境與途徑、規則銜接等問題展開了深入研討，分享了豐富的學術成果和實踐經驗。參與者們在緊張而充實的討論中增進了相互的瞭解與友誼，也加深了對粵港澳大灣區共同發展的認識和共識。