This seminar explores the interaction between Chinese customary law and the doctrine of adverse possession within Hong Kong’s unique legal landscape. While adverse possession, rooted in English common law, allows individuals to acquire title through long-term occupation, Chinese customary law continues to govern traditional landholding practices in the New Territories, particularly concerning ancestral land and clan property. The coexistence of these systems raises complex questions: Can possession adverse to clan rights ever ripen into ownership? How do courts reconcile statutory provisions with customary norms? And what does this tension reveal about Hong Kong’s pluralistic legal heritage? By examining key cases and doctrinal developments, the seminar highlights both the challenges and opportunities of harmonizing customary practices with modern property law, offering insights into broader debates on legal pluralism, cultural continuity, and the evolution of land rights in post-colonial jurisdictions.

About the Speaker:

Dr William Wong, S.C., has been in practice in Hong Kong since 1998. In 2013, Dr Wong was appointed as a Senior Counsel in Hong Kong. Dr Wong is currently a member of the Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, member of Legal Subsector of the Election Committee and Director of the China Law Society (Hong Kong).  He is Recorder of the High Court of Hong Kong and the Vice Chairmen of the Board of Review of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue. Dr Wong is an Adjunct Professor of the City University of Hong Kong, a Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Financial Regulation and Economic Development of the Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a part-time Professor in the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Dr Wong’s practice covers a wide spectrum of contentious commercial litigation. He has a special focus and substantial experience in the areas of company, insolvency and securities law. He is the first Hong Kong barrister to be admit, on an ad hoc basis, in the Bermudian courts to conduct trials and appeals. He was also called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands in 2010 and has been qualified as a lawyer of the Greater Bay Area since 2023.

In the aspect of international arbitration, Dr Wong is an Arbitrator of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Former Chairman of the Arbitration Committee of the Hong Kong Bar Association and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. With over 20 years of experience in international arbitration, Dr Wong has handled more than 300 international commercial arbitration cases.

Academically, Dr Wong graduated from the Business Faculty of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1994 as the Rhodes Scholar of the year. In 1996, he obtained his degree in Jurisprudence from Wadham College, Oxford. In 2004, he also obtained his LL.M degree from the Peking University. In 2012, he was awarded the Doctoral Degree from the Peking University with a dissertation on corporate insolvency laws.

*CPD credits are available upon application and subject to accreditation by the Law Society of Hong Kong (currently pending).