Chinese delegation meets with LSSA

February 1st, 2018
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Vice Minister from the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Zhao Dacheng, (left), exchanges gifts with LSSA Management Committee members Nkosana Mvundlela and Jan van Rensburg during a meeting in Pretoria in December 2017.

By Barbara Whittle

At the request of Deputy Minister John Jeffery, the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) hosted a delegation from the People’s Republic of China on 4 December 2017.  The delegation was led by Zhao Dacheng, Vice Minister from the Ministry of Justice. The Chinese delegation included Director-General and Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Justice; the Director-General, Department of Legal Publicity, Ministry of Justice; the Deputy Director, General Office, Ministry of Justice; the Director-General, Justice Department of Hainan Province; as well as Xie Yancun and Zhang Siqi from the Chinese embassy in Pretoria and a representative of the international affairs section of the South African Justice and Constitutional Affairs Department.

LSSA Management Committee members, Nkosana Mvundlela and Jan van Rensburg, represented the Co-chairpersons at the meeting. Information was shared on the profession in both countries, including changes to be brought about by the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 in South Africa this year, the rule of law and the importance of the independence of the profession.

The LSSA adds its voice to that of its constituent members – the Black Lawyers Association, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers and the Cape Law Society – as well as all other legal practitioners who have committed themselves to protecting the Constitution and the rule of law, as well as the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary.

The LSSA will be co-hosting the BRICS Legal Forum in South Africa during 2018, which will be attended by representatives of the legal profession from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Barbara Whittle, Communication Manager, Law Society of South Africa, barbara@lssa.org.za

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2018 (Jan/Feb) DR 15.

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