The Third FOCAC-Legal Forum was Successfully Held in Mauritius

From December 6 to 7, 2012, the third FOCAC-Legal Forum (hereinafter referred to as the Legal Forum) was held in Port Louis, Mauritius. The Legal Forum was jointly hosted by China Law Society and the Supreme Court of Mauritius and co-organized by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, the Attorney General's Office of Mauritius, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Mauritius Bar Association, the Law Society of Mauritius and La Chambre des Notaires de l'Ile Maurice. More than 200 delegates from the legal circles of China, Mauritius, Angola, Benin, Ethiopia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, etc. attended the Forum.

Distinguished guests from Chinese and African legal circles, such as Mr. Li Xinmin, President of Law Society of Henan Province and Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of Henan Provincial People's Congress, Mr. Y. K. J. Yeung Sik Yuen, G.O.S.K., Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Mauritius, Mr. Y. Varma, Attorney General of Mauritius, Mr. Mogoeng Mogoeng, the Chief Justice of South Africa, Mr. Tegene Getaneh, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Ethiopia, Mr. Johannes Tomana, Attorney General of Zimbabwe, Mr Holo Theodore, President of High Court of Justice of Benin attended the Legal Forum.

On December 5, Mr. Kailash Purryag, President of Mauritius, Mr. Y. K. J. Yeung Sik Yuen, G.O.S.K. and Mr. Y. Varmarespectively met and held cordial and friendly talks with Chinese and African distinguished guests. Mr. Y. Varma also hosted a banquet for Chinese and African distinguished guests.

Mr. Li Xinmin, Mr. Y. K. J. Yeung Sik Yuen, G.O.S.K., Mr. Y. Varma, Mr. Shaheed Bhaukaurally, Puisne Judgeof Supreme Court of Mauritius and Mr. Gu Zhaomin, Director-General of Overseas Liaison Department of China Law Society and Director-General of China Legal Exchange Center delivered speeches during the opening and closing ceremonies respectively.

When addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Li Xinmin said during the 4th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC it was proposed that the FOCAC-Legal Forum shall be held and during the 5th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC the four aspects of China-Africa pragmatic legal cooperation were proposed. It has fully embodied that the China-Africa legal exchange and cooperation has been approved and thought highly of by both sides and are developing in a pragmatic and in-depth way. China-Africa legal cooperation has a bright future and a pleasing momentum. In the future, we shall promote legal diplomacy and enhance the healthy development of bilateral and multilateral national relations; perfect the mechanism of the Legal Forum and promote the sustainable development of the Legal Forum; expand cooperative areas and promote pragmatic cooperation projects.

Mr. Y. K. J. Yeung Sik Yuen, G.O.S.K. said in his opening speech that it is great pleasure that Mauritius could be one of the hosting countries of the third Legal Forum. The Legal Forum is a platform for the exchange and cooperation between China-Africa legal circles and it has provided a good opportunity for the communication of legal systems and the process of the rule of law among different countries. Rule of law is a common goal of human societies. We sincerely hope that, on the platform of the Legal Forum, we could learn from each other and jointly create a more beautiful and harmonious society.

Mr. Y. Varma pointed out in his opening speech that the role of law in international relations is becoming increasingly significant. Strengthening the exchange and cooperation between Chinese and African legal circles will play a significant role in promoting and guaranteeing the China-Africa cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, culture, etc. We sincerely hope that this Legal Forum could play a more important role in facilitating the exchange, understanding and mutual trust between Chinese and African legal circles and in promoting the rule of law in China and African countries.

Mr. Shaheed Bhaukaurally said in his closing speech that delegates from Chinese and African legal fields are gathered here to conduct extensive exchange and profound discussion on issues of common concern and on China-Africa legal cooperation, which has scored fruitful achievements. He congratulated on the setting up of the Steering Committee of the FOCAC-Legal Forum (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). He believed that with the guidance of the Steering Committee, the Legal Forum will have faster development. He also summarized the main points of presenters during the Legal Forum.

When addressing the closing ceremony, Mr. Gu Zhaomin pointed out that with the joint efforts of Chinese and African legal circles, this Legal Forum has achieved full success. During the Legal Forum, the Charter of the Steering Committee of FOCAC-Legal Forum was adopted and the Committee was set up, which will be a mile stone of the history of development of the Legal Forum. That will lead the Legal Forum to develop healthily, fast and sustainably. We sincerely hope that the exchange and cooperation between Chinese and African legal circles could be strengthened. We shall further promote the pragmatic cooperation projects in the fields of law research, legal services, training of law professionals and the mechanism of non-judicial settlement of disputes, etc.. We shall improve the Legal Forum and make greater contributions to enhancing the development of a new strategic partnership between China and Africa.

On December 7, the first Steering Committee Conference of the Legal Forum was held. Chinese and African delegates such as Mr. Li Xinmin, Mr. Y. K. J. Yeung Sik Yuen, G.O.S.K., Mr. Y. Varma, Mr. Mogoeng Mogoeng, Mr. Tegene Getaneh, Mr. Johannes Tomana, Mr Holo Theodore attended the Conference. During the Conference, Charter of the Steering Committee of FOCAC-Legal Forum was adopted, which marked the setting up of the Committee. The Committee is the decision-making and coordinating organ of the Legal Forum and has two Chairpersons, one from China and the other from Africa. The Committee has a Secretariat which is responsible for specific matters of the Legal Forum. The setting up of the Committee is a breakthrough of the institutional and systematic building of the Legal Forum since the setting up of the Chinese Coordinating Committee of the Legal Forum in August, 2010. It has further improved the structure of the Legal Forum, which has laid a solid foundation for the China-Africa legal exchange to develop into a higher level and wider areas.

During the two-day seminar, delegates had heated and profound discussions around the theme of "Deepening China-Africa Legal Cooperation & Pushing Forward the Development of the New China-Africa Strategic Partnership" on three topics of "the International Law Concerning 'Peaceful Coexistence to' to 'Cooperation for Mutual Development'", "the Legal Environment for Investment in Africa: Changes in the Applicable Rules of Laws Relating to African International Civil and Commercial Relations" and "Dispute Resolution Mechanism with China-Africa Characteristics". Delegates have provided many helpful suggestions and ideas on how to further promote the China-Africa pragmatic legal cooperation and how to solve the legal problems that have emerged in the trade and investment between China and African countries.

On the evening of December 7, Mr. Y. K. J. Yeung Sik Yuen, G.O.S.K. hosted a farewell banquet for all the delegates.

With the joint efforts of all the delegates, the agenda of the third Legal Forum has been successfully accomplished and the Legal Forum has achieved full success. During the Legal Forum, Mr. Johannes Tomana announced the fourth Legal Forum will be held in Zimbabwe in 2013.