Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu said the body’s status would be on par with the UN’s International Court of Justice.
The Chinese government has signed a convention establishing an international mediation organisation located in Hong Kong, with Beijing hoping it will rival the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the world’s leading conflict resolution body.
The Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) was signed into law on Friday, in a ceremony presided over by Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Hong Kong.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from several countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia and Serbia. Representatives from 20 international bodies, including the United Nations, also attended the ceremony, according to Hong Kong’s RTHK public broadcaster.
A video shown at the signing ceremony said the scope of cases handled by the body would include disputes between countries, between a country and nationals of another country, and between private international entities.
Beijing plans for the body to cement Hong Kong’s presence as a top global mediation hub, as it hopes to bolster the city’s waning international credentials.
In an un-bylined opinion piece published in China’s state-run Global Times newspaper, IOMed was described as the “world’s first intergovernmental international legal organisation dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation”.
IOMed would fill a “critical gap in mechanisms focused on mediation-based dispute resolution”, it said.
“The establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation marks a milestone in global governance and highlights the value of resolving conflicts in an ‘amicable way’,” it added.
The ICJ – the principal judicial organ of the UN, also known as the World Court – is currently the top body for solving legal disputes between member states in accordance with international law. It also provides advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN bodies.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said this week that IOMed’s status would be on par with the UN bodies the ICJ and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Lee said it would also help bring “substantial” economic benefits and job opportunities, as well as stimulate various sectors including hospitality and transport, to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has experienced sustained economic stagnation since its handover back to Chinese rule in 1997 after more than a century and a half as a British colony.
Investor confidence has been rocked by Beijing’s increasing control over all aspects of life in the territory – including the economy – while gloom also persists about the state of China’s post-pandemic recovery.
In an opinion piece published in the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s Justice Secretary Paul Lam said IOMed would help Hong Kong cope with challenges presented by “hostile external forces” that are “attempting to de-internationalise and de-functionalise” it.
“To cope with such a challenge, Hong Kong needs to make good use of the IOMed headquarters as a focus for strengthening the city as an international dispute resolution centre, so as to give full play to its institutional advantages under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework,” Lam said, referring to China’s model of governing Hong Kong, which nominally allows it a level of autonomy.
The IOMed headquarters, due to open by the end of this year or in early 2026, will be located at a former police station in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district.