Mauritius hosts 3rd FOCAC Legal Forum

The Attorney-General, Mr Y. Varma opened the Third Legal Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) yesterday, at the Grand Baie International Conference Centre in presence of Chief Justice Sik Yuen and other eminent personalities.The forum is being attended by some 250 participants from the legal profession from Africa, China and Mauritius.

In his speech, Mr Varma stated that the Forum should draw up standards commonly accepted by all partners and foster legal co-operation among them.This partnership should aim at promoting the rule of law and building contacts between legal communities in China and Africa. The rule of law assists economic development by providing certainty and contributes to social stability by protecting citizens against injustice, he added.

For his part Chief Justice Sik Yuen underlined that the purpose of this Forum is to encourage dialogue, cooperation and exchange with a view to seeking mutual reinforcement and common development in the legal and judicial fields.

The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) is a platform established by China and African Countries for the promotion of collective consultation and cooperation mechanisms for the development of our respective countries. The theme of this forum is Deepening Culture – Africa legal Cooperation: The New China-Africa Strategic Partnership.

Through this partnership, the African and Chinese legal professionals are given a platform to exchange views, share experience and learn from each other.  This will thus contribute to mutual understanding and co-operation in the legal and judicial fields. Besides creating the opportunity for exchange purposes between African and Chinese Judges, Lawyers and Prosecutors, the partnership should promote awareness of legal reform issues.

As rightly acknowledged at the 2nd FOCAC Forum, in Beijing, in September 2010, a steady and reliable legal framework between China and Africa was an urgent need to support economic and trade relations.

One of the objectives of the Beijing Declaration at the FOCAC Legal Forum was to push forward the legal exchange and co-operation between both sides to actively promote the pragmatic legal co-operation between China and Africa and conduct co-operation like judicial assistance at bilateral level.