IN a unique move, the University of Hong Kong is offering a comprehensive legal information service to both business clients and ordinary Hong Kong citizens.
The university's Law-On-Line service, offered by the Faculty of Law, provides legal information on a computerised network.
Speaking at the launch of the programme, the university's vice-chancellor, Professor Wang Gungwu, said: 'The service brings Hong Kong in line with other countries like the United Kingdom and United States where such legal databases are available to everyone and have been in existence for some time.' He said until now most legal information was almost completely inaccessible to the public and largely the private domain of legal practitioners.
'What a marvellous opportunity this is then to have a depth of complex legal information now instantly available at your fingertips,' Professor Wang said.
Law-On-Line traces its origin back to 1991 when the Bill of Rights was introduced and it concentrated on human rights issues. But there was a strong demand for its services and the operation grew.
Last year, the university received a grant of $13 million from the University Grants Committee to support the establishment of Law-On-Line.
