The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, reiterated today that the Government, as always, attached great importance to the optimisation of legal procedures and allocation of resources to support the development of the judiciary.

Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2017/2018 Judicial Year, Mr Chui stated that the Government adhered closely to the rule of law, and strove to enhance its capabilities as an administration; with support from the judiciary and the legal system, and from the community.

He said judicial bodies had – since the time of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) – made indispensable contributions to the full implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle in Macao. This included strict adherence to the Basic Law in the exercising of judicial powers, thereby ensuring fairness and impartiality in the dispensation of justice and the upholding of local residents’ legitimate rights.

In his speech, Mr Chui said the Government had, as always, given its strong support to the development of judicial institutions. Examples of such support included the training of legal professionals, and the construction of buildings to house judicial bodies.

The Chief Executive additionally said that the growing prosperity of the country provided the city with unprecedented development opportunities. To push forward the development of “One country, two systems”, Macao would seize fresh opportunities arising from national development initiatives; make full use of the support outlined by the Central Government; and consolidate efforts to enable Macao to make greater contributions to serving the country, while advancing the city’s overall capabilities.

The President of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Sam Hou Fai; the Public Prosecutor-General, Mr Ip Son Sang; and the President of the Macau Lawyers’ Association, Mr Jorge Neto Valente, each delivered a speech at the opening ceremony held at the Macao Cultural Centre.

Approximately 400 officials attended the event, including: the President of the Legislative Assembly, Mr Ho Iat Seng; the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan; the President of the Independent Committee for the Nomination of Judges, Mr Lau Cheok Va; representatives respectively of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, and the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR; principal officials of the Macao SAR; members of the Executive Council; officials of judicial authorities; members of the Legislative Assembly; and other officials of the Macao SAR.