Hong Kong to host international law institute

The General Assembly of the Italy-based International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) has decided to establish the UNIDROIT Asia-Pacific Liaison Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The office is expected to open at the Hong Kong Legal Hub in the second half of 2026, marking the first regional presence of UNIDROIT outside its seat in Rome in its 100-year history.

The Government noted that hosting UNIDROIT's first overseas office in Hong Kong is a significant milestone for the city's development as a legal hub, as it reflects the international community's continued confidence in the HKSAR's legal system and reinforces its position as a leading international legal hub.

An independent intergovernmental organization with 65 member states, UNIDROIT aims to study the needs and methods to modernize, harmonize and co-ordinate private and, in particular, commercial law among states and groups of states and to formulate uniform law instruments, principles and rules to achieve those objectives.