Integrated as part of the 2nd Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao and with the aim "to promote the MSAR legal system to the legal professionals in Mainland China" with a view to strengthen the exchanges between the notary professions of both sides, the Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) recently organized a workshop on "The Notary Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region". For this event, fourteen executive officers in charge of notary work were invited to attend from the Justice Department of the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Municipal Notary Offices of the Guangdong Province. Through a presentation of the content and the development trend of the MSAR's notary law, this workshop promoted further exchanges and cooperation between Macao and Mainland in the notary field. The workshop took place on April 19th in the meeting room of DSAJ. Ms. Wang Ting, Deputy Division Head, Division of the Notary Management, Department of Justice of the Guangdong Province, and Miss Leong Pou Ieng, Acting Director of DSAJ, respectively, fully corroborated and endorsed the effectiveness and significance of this event. Keynote speakers of the workshop included Mr. Lou Soi Cheong, Notary Public of the First Public Notary Office, Legal Affairs Bureau, on "Introduction to the MSAR Notary Law" and Mr. Kuang Zhiqiang, Deputy Head of the Guangzhou Notary Office, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province on "Introduction to the Characteristics of the Notary System of the Guangdong Province and Its Main Functions". The Notary Public Lou Soi Cheong presented to the Mainland participants the Macao Notary System, including the functions and nature of different public notarial entities, the organization of the different types of notarial activities and explained, in detail, the characteristics of different types of notarial acts. Deputy Head Kuang Zhiqiang, on the other hand, gave a synopsis on the characteristics of the notary system in Mainland China, the main types of notary works and presented recommendations to strengthen the co-operation in the notarial area and related legal issues between the Macao and the Guangdong Province, which enriched the understandings of the local legal professionals and notaries public about the current situation in China. As the notarial systems of both sides are different, participants showed their keen interest in the notary system and notarial implementation of both sides and raised various questions, which led to a lively positive atmosphere during the workshop. At the end of the event, the Mainland participants paid a visit to the Second Public Notary Office, the Property Registry, Commercial and Movable Property Registry, Civil Registry and the Consolidated Government Services Building in order to learn more about the actual operation of registry and notary. The 2nd Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, which incorporates this workshop, has as its main objective the "Consolidation of the Macao Legal System" and is going to take place until December 2013. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, together with many entities and public departments of the Macao SAR, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services, the Financial Services Bureau and the Institute of European Studies of Macao.
