Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), stressed the need to fully tap the role of trials to serve high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

A symposium on the judicial services for high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is held at the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court on Feb 9, 2023. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

He made those remarks at a symposium on judicial services to support such development held on Feb 9 at the SPC's First Circuit Court.

Zhou noted that the central leadership has made a series of major decisions on the GBA's development since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and the 20th CPC National Congress has made specific requirements on moving it forward. Courts across the nation need to fully implement those guiding principles and decisions, find the right entry points, actively fulfill their duties, and provide strong judicial services for the high-quality development of the GBA, he said.

Efforts are needed to promote the convergence of judicial rules and mechanisms, and further improve the judicial assistance mechanism, to fully tap the role of the rule of law in the construction of the GBA, he said. Guidance on judicial policy and typical cases needs to be intensified, and the reform of trial mechanisms for cases related to the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions needs to be propelled in order to respond to opening up and internationalization of the area, he added.

The diversified dispute resolution mechanism needs to be improved in a bid to build the GBA into a preferred center for international commercial dispute resolution, Zhou noted. More efforts are needed in deepening judicial exchanges and cooperation, establishing regular research mechanisms, and developing demonstration zones for in-depth cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao to enhance the area's international competitiveness, he added.

Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, inspects the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People's Court. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

A judicial research center and a research institute of the GBA under the SPC were unveiled on Feb 9, as part of the SPC's efforts to support the development of the area. In his congratulatory message regarding the establishment of the center and the institute, Zhou expressed his hope of building them into world-class judicial institutes in theoretical research, capacity building and judicial exchanges and cooperation.  

Before and after the symposium, Zhou inspected the SPC's First Circuit Court, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court and the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People's Court.