Macau Lawyers Association has no intention to resume qualification pact

The Macau Lawyers Association has confirmed it has not contacted its Portuguese counterpart to discuss reactivation of the Legal Practice Qualification Mutual Recognition Agreement, which has been suspended for a decade.

According to the president of the Macau Lawyers Association, Vong Hin Fai, the association does not have a timetable for the reactivation of the agreement and has not reached out to the Portuguese Bar Association on the matter.

“We don’t have a timetable for the Mutual Recognition Agreement, so we’ve never contacted our counterpart in Portugal about it,” Vong said. “As I said at the previous press conference, the reactivation of the agreement depends on the Macau market situation, and it is not difficult to recruit quality lawyers in Macau at the moment.”

A senior member of the Macau Lawyers Association, José Alvares, believes reactivating the agreement could provide Macau with opportunities to strengthen its capacity as an arbitration center and diversify its economic development.

“If we’re trying to use Macau as an arbitration center, use Macau as a Portuguese-speaking country, neutral ground, then we possibly could need Portuguese lawyers in the future to re-strengthen our capacity and our skills to act as this arbitration center,” Alvares said.

The Mutual Recognition Agreement, which was suspended in 2013, would allow lawyers registered in either Macau or Portugal to work in the other jurisdiction without taking a local exam. 

According to the association, 60% of lawyers currently practicing in Macau are Chinese or Macanese, while 40% come from Portuguese-speaking countries. Staff Reporter