AAM reports stable development in legal sector

The president of the Macau Lawyers Association (AAM), Vong Hin Fai, said the city’s legal sector has shown stable development over the past year despite a slight reduction in registered lawyers.

In his speech at the opening of the judicial year, Vong noted that the association currently has approximately 449 registered lawyers, representing a 3.2% year-over-year decrease.

Of these almost 450 professionals, 82 are private notaries in Macau, and 16 are certified to perform notary duties on the mainland.

Looking back, the AAM president noted that there has been consistent development in the legal profession, highlighting that the current number of lawyers registered with the AAM represents an increase of about sixfold compared with the 74 lawyers registered in 1991.

Commenting on the decline in the number of professionals registered with the AAM, he said that besides the 15 lawyers who suspended their credentials in Macau, another 28 trainee lawyers have done the same, “with most of them taking up public office or attending full-time training programs in related departments.

Some Portuguese-speaking lawyers have also returned to their countries of origin.”

He noted that Macau currently has 142 trainee lawyers.

Addressing recent developments in the profession, Vong remarked that since mid-2022, the implementation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) Lawyers Qualification Certification has allowed 100 local lawyers to practice law in the nine cities of the GBA.

He said this has enabled these professionals to broaden their professional scope, enhance their skills, and better integrate into the national development landscape.

Addressing the issue of legal assistance provided by lawyers and trainees, Vong disclosed that in the 12 months between September 1, 2024, and August 31, 2025, lawyers were appointed ex officio by the Court of First Instance to intervene in approximately 3,772 cases, with fees set at much lower rates than those normally charged by lawyers.

At the same time, lawyers and trainee lawyers were also required to provide legal aid services assigned by the Legal Aid Commission, resulting in a total of 155 cases between 2024 and 2025.

Noting recent progress in reducing bureaucracy and facilitating court procedures, Vong mentioned several positive aspects related to the digitalization of processes and the inclusion of more services in the Macau One Account. However, he also pointed out that “the current system of publishing court sentences is partial and limited to specific instances, falling short of public expectations regarding judicial transparency.”

He stated that decisions of the Court of First Instance, particularly those not subject to appeal, “are not published systematically or regularly, which may lead to inconsistency in legal opinions across different cases, thereby limiting legal research and education due to a lack of sufficient practical material.”

He also suggested that publishing these decisions, while safeguarding the parties’ privacy, would not only increase transparency in final judicial decisions and promote greater disclosure of judicial justice but also help the public better understand the legal consequences of different acts, thereby enabling them to regulate their behavior more effectively.

Such measures, he added, would have a positive impact on legal awareness and social education.