Hong Kong Legal Week 2026 marks UNCITRAL 60th anniversary with focus on digital trade
Hong Kong Legal Week 2026 opened with a celebration of UNCITRAL's 60th anniversary, featuring discussions on digital trade, paperless commerce, and AI in law. The event also launched the Hong Kong Legal Tech Festival, including a subsidy scheme for law firms adopting legal technology.
The Hong Kong Legal Week 2026 opened on 4 November with a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), focusing on the commission's contributions to international goods transport in the digital economy. The event, titled 'UNCITRAL in the Digital Economy: Contribution to International Transport of Goods – UNCITRAL 60th Anniversary @ Hong Kong Legal Week', brought together legal experts to discuss paperless and digitised global commerce.
Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, Rimsky Yuen, delivered a welcome speech, noting that UNCITRAL's work in international goods transport under the digital economy extends beyond drafting legal texts to reducing trade barriers and ensuring interoperability. He said Hong Kong, as an international trade hub, has been promoting digital trade development through legislative amendments and collaboration between the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Institute and UNCITRAL.
UNCITRAL Secretary Anna Joubin-Bret thanked the HKSAR for its consistent support. Professor Andrew Li, Secretary-General of the International Mediation Institute, gave a keynote address on Hong Kong's contributions to the rule of law in international trade and commerce. Four panel sessions explored UNCITRAL's current initiatives and future developments, including digitalisation and platformisation of trade finance, cross-border paperless trade, the impact of the United Nations Convention on the Transfer of Goods on digitalisation, and the use of digital tools to coordinate recognition in cross-border judicial sales of ships.
Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr. Cheung Kwok-kwan, delivered closing remarks, emphasising that international cooperation is the foundation for seamless global trade. He urged stakeholders to embrace digitalisation and promote legal collaboration.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Legal Tech Festival, a key part of Legal Week, opened on 4 November for three days. It features a Legal Tech Forum, an exhibition, and an Insight Stage, showcasing the latest legal technology developments and facilitating dialogue on the ethical and professional implications of artificial intelligence in law. Yuen and Dr. Cheung visited the exhibition and encouraged the legal sector to apply for the newly launched 'Subscription to Legal Tech Services Subsidy Scheme' to enhance their use of legal technology.
The Legal Tech Exhibition gathered 15 legal tech service providers, including designated suppliers under the subsidy scheme, demonstrating AI and other technologies for legal research, automated review, data analysis, workflow management, document drafting, and hearing support. The Insight Stage offered interactive workshops for legal professionals to experience these solutions. The Legal Tech Forum on 5 November will focus on 'Human-Centric, Integrity-Core: Legal Tech Reshaping Legal Practice', where experts will discuss AI governance while maintaining integrity, trust, and professional responsibility.
The 2026 Hong Kong Mediation Lecture will be held on the same evening, introducing the latest developments of the Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited in enhancing professional standards and public confidence in mediation, including its proposed statutory functions under pending legislative amendments.
