54
5
4
neeD to knoW
LegAL SySTeM
Macau’s legal system is based on
Continental european law. unlike
Hong Kong, the main source of
law in Macau is not case law but
codified and written legislation.
This means judges are expected to
apply the law instead of providing
major developments to it. So there
is no binding precedence in terms
of court jurisprudence. The legal
system of Macau is based on the
Portuguese legal system, although
there are some differences, for
instance in the Commercial Code.
ADMISSION AS A LAwyeR
individuals who wish to practice law in Macau and who hold a bachelor
of law degree from the university of Macau, must register with the Macau
Lawyer’s Association and undergo a period of internship. Graduates
undergoing practical training are called trainee lawyers. the aim of this
training is to afford the trainee an opportunity to gain practical exposure
to professional techniques and ethics, in preparation for work as a
fully-fledged lawyer. The period of internship must be not less than 18
continuous months. Bachelor of law degree holders who graduate from
other universities recognised in Macau and who wish to become trainee
lawyers, must take certain orientation courses to familiarise themselves
with the local legal system. After completing the courses, such people must
undergo an internship before they can practice law.
ThE LAWYER’S LegAL
ASSOCIATION TRANSLATIONS
the Lawyers’ statutes stipulate that As a bilingual jurisdiction, there is
the Macau Lawyer’s Association is a a permanent need for translations
public corporate institute representing between the two official languages
the legal profession. its professional in Macau. On top of that, english
ethics and practices are defined by the is widely used in contracts since,
association’s regulations, including on many occasions, it is the only
the statutes of the Macau Lawyer’s language in common between the
Association, internal rules and parties involved. this poses two
regulations of the Higher Council challenges: on one hand, there is a
of Lawyers, Code of Professional lack of specialised legal translators;
ethics, disciplinary Code for Lawyers, on the other, legislation and legal
regulations Governing Admission to texts are often hard to translate
the Legal Profession, and regulations accurately, in order to both maintain
Governing scale of Fees. the letter and the spirit of the law.
ARBITRATION
Arbitration and conciliation are still relatively new issues in Macau and
are seldom used to promote alternative dispute resolutions. internationally,
arbitration is most common for settling commercial disputes, particularly
in the field of international commercial transactions. Macau has a total of
four arbitration centres: the Consumer Arbitration Centre (managed by the
Consumer Council); the Arbitration Centre of the Lawyer’s Association, to
settle disputes between lawyers, between lawyers and clients, and also to
settle commercial, civil and administrative disputes; the World trade Center
Arbitration Centre; and the Centre for Arbitration of disputes in insurance
and Private Pension Funds, set up by the Monetary Authority. Meanwhile, the
government plans to create an arbitration centre for property management
disputes. Macau is a member of the Convention on the recognition and
enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards - the “new york” Convention. this
convention applies to the international recognition and enforcement of foreign
arbitral awards and the referral by a court to arbitration.
March 2010
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140