Hong Kong leader, John Lee Ka-Chiu, said the State of the body would be on par with the UN International Court of Justice.
The Chinese government has signed a convention that establishes an international mediation organization located in Hong Kong, with Beijing with the hope that it rival the International Court of Justice (ICI) as the world’s main conflict resolution agency.
The Convention on the Establishment of the International Mediation Organization (IOMED) was signed on Friday at a ceremony chaired by China Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Hong Kong.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from several countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia and Serbia. Representatives of 20 international organizations, including the United Nations, also attended the ceremony, according to the public broadcaster of Hong Kong.
A video that is shown in the signature ceremony said that the scope of cases managed by the body would include disputes between countries, between one country and nationals from another country, and between private international entities.
Beijing plans that the body consolidate the presence of Hong Kong as a superior global mediation center, since it hopes to strengthen international international credentials of the city.
In an opinion article not byined published in the Global Times newspaper administered by China, IOMED was “the first intergovernmental international legal organization of the first intergovernmental legal organization of the world dedicated international disputes through mediation.”
IOMED would fill a “critical emptiness in the mechanisms focused on mediation -based dispute,” he said.
“The establishment of the International Organization for Mediation marks a milestone in global governance and highlights the value of resolving conflicts in a” friendly way “, he added.
The ICJ, the main judicial body of the UN, also known as the World Court, is currently the main body to resolve legal disputes between member states in accordance with international law. It also provides advice opinions on legal issues referred to by UN agencies.
The Executive President of Hong Kong, John Lee Ka-Chiu, said this week that the IOMed state would be on par with the UN bodies, the ICJ and the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague.
Lee said he would also help bring “substantial” economic benefits and job opportunities, as well as stimulate several sectors, including hospitality and transport, to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has experienced an economic stagnation sustained since its delivery to the Chinese domain in 1997 after more than a century and a half as a British colony.
The trust of investors has been shaken by the growing control of Beijing on all aspects of life in the territory, including the economy, while sadness also persists on the state of China’s post-pandemic recovery.
In an opinion article published in the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Secretary of Justice, Paul Lam, said Iomed helps Hong Kong to deal with the challenges presented by “hostile external forces” that they are “trying to deternalize it.”
“To deal with such a challenge, Hong Kong needs to make a good use of the IOMed headquarters as an approach to strengthen the city as a center for the resolution of international disputes, so that it is played completely to ‘LAM,
The IOMed headquarters, which will open at the end of this year or early 2026, will be located in an old police station in the Hong Kong Wan Chai district.
