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International & Transnational Law at CUHK LAW
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Hong Kong is one of the most international cities in the world and cross-border business transactions are daily routine for many Hong Kong enterprises. International business law, including all aspects of the rather complex conflict of laws area, are therefore of major significance for Hong Kong. Furthermore, Hong Kong is located where the geopolitical interests of the world’s mega-powers meet. Public international law, including the various aspects of international economic law, consequently not only plays an important role in the Greater China region but also stands at the center of global attention in times where regional and global collaborations as well as tensions build up in many parts of the world.
CUHK LAW professors have focused on international and transnational law since the inception of our Faculty. We have developed and are delivering courses and programmes which are tailor-made to empower the next generation of legal leaders to navigate in the international and transnational law arena successfully. CUHK LAW professors are producing cutting-edge research, which is published in top tier international journals and with leading publishers, which is cited by the highest courts across the world and which informs many initiatives of international organisations thus creating significant impact beyond academia. CUHK LAW colleagues are frequently invited to serve as expert witnesses before international courts. They are listed as arbitrators of international arbitration commissions and they are engaged by law firms, government agencies and international organisations to assist in complex issues which demand their expert input.
Find out from our professors how their groundbreaking research is shaping the international and transnational law world and how CUHK LAW is preparing its students for careers as international legal leaders.
International & Transnational Law Research and Teaching
In times of globalisation and de-globalisation, international law and transnational law will continue to dominate the working agendas at local, regional and international levels. CUHK LAW is a highly respected player in this very dynamic environment. CUHK LAW research and teaching programmes contribute actively to shaping the various facets of these very important areas of law.
Research
At CUHK LAW research in international and transnational law is led by the Transnational Economic Law and Dispute Settlement Group and the Private International Law Group of the Centre for Comparative and Transnational Law (CCTL). Both groups organise on a regular basis public seminars and conferences on topical academic and practical issues. In particular, the Cross-border Legal Issues Dialogue Seminar Series attracts on a regular basis between 200 and 400 participants, a majority of whom are legal practitioners. “We are most grateful for the active engagement of the legal professions in our activities. This is very important because the input we get informs our research and contributes to the development of new projects and approaches. The significant interest which our seminars attracts also shows that our academic work is not just conducted in the famous ivory tower, but has real practical significance,” says Professor Dicky Tsang, the chair of the CCTL Private International Law Group.
Publications
- Lutz-Christian Wolff, ‘The History of China’s Investment Law System: Lessons from the Past for the (Brighter) Future?’ (2023) 56(1) The International Lawyer 141-189.
- Jae Woon Lee and Sabin Chung, ‘The Korea Fair Trade Commission’s Conditional Approval of the Korean Air-Asiana Merger’ (2022) 43 (8) European Competition Law Review.
- Jae Woon Lee and Yiu Yeung Tong, ‘Enforceability of Excessive Pricing Rules under Hong Kong Competition Law’ (2022) 52(3) Hong Kong Law Journal 977-996.
- Bryan Mercurio, ‘On the Importance of Developing a Coherent Policy Facilitating and Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows’ (2021) 27(2) International Trade Law and Regulation 97-104.
- Bryan Mercurio, ‘The IP Waiver for COVID-19: Bad Policy, Bad Precedent’ (2021) International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law.
- Chin Leng Lim, The Cambridge Companion to International Arbitration (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
- Jae Woon Lee and Michelle Dy, ‘Nationalism, Consolidation, and Rationalization in the Aviation Industry’ in Victor V. Ramraj (ed), Covid-19 in Asia: Law and Policy Contexts (Oxford University Press, 2021) 379-393.
- Jae Woon Lee, ‘Government Bailouts of Airlines in the COVID-19 Crisis: Improving Transparency in International Air Transport’ (2021) 24 Journal of International Economic Law 1-21.
- Sandra Marco Colino, ‘The Internationalization of China’s Foreign Direct Investment Laws’ (2021) 45(2) Fordham International Law Journal 275-313.
- Sandra Marco Colino, ‘Vertical Restraints (or Restrictions)’ in Deborah Healey, William E. Kovacic, Pablo Trevisán and Richard Whish (eds), Global Dictionary of Competition Law (Concurrences, 2021).
- Bryan Mercurio, ‘Challenging Coerced Conformity in Pharmaceutical Patent Law: Promoting a Holistic Review’ (2020) 51(3) IIC – International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law 330-340.
- Bryan Mercurio, ‘Keep Calm and Carry On: Lessons from the Jurisprudence on Fair and Equitable Treatment and Intellectual Property Rights’ in Christophe Geiger (ed), Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Investment Law (Edward Elgar, 2020) 159-181.
- Jae Woon Lee and Seung Young Yoon, ‘Cross-Border Joint Venture Airlines in Asia: Corporate Governance Perspective’ (2020) 21(3) European Business Organization Law Review 709-729.
- Jae Woon Lee, ‘Passenger Injuries in International Air Law: Case Law Development and Upcoming Questions for Hong Kong Courts’ (2020) 50(1) Hong Kong Law Journal 49-75.
- Jae Woon Lee, Aviation Law and Policy in Asia: Smart Regulation in the Liberalized Markets (Brill | Nijhoff, 2020).
- Jingmeng Cai and Jae Woon Lee, ‘Enforcing China’s Anti-Monopoly law in regulated industries: a study of the airline industry’ (2020) 9(3) Journal of Antitrust Enforcement (Oxford University Press).
- Lutz-Christian Wolff, ‘Legal Responses to China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative: Necessary, Possible or Pointless Exercise’ (2020) 29(2) Transnational Law & Contemporary Legal Problems 249-325.
- Samuli Seppänen, ‘After Difference: A Meta-Comparative Study of Chinese Encounters with Foreign Comparative Law’ (2020) American Journal of Comparative Law.
- Sandra Marco Colino, ‘The Long Arm of State Aid Law: Crushing Corporate Tax Avoidance’ (2020) 44(2) Fordham International Law Journal.
- Lutz-Christian Wolff, ‘China’s Outbound Investments and the Rule of Law’ in Tim Wenniges/Walter Lohmann (eds), Chinese FDI in the EU and in the US: Simple Rules for Turbulent Times (Singapore, 2019) 101-111.
- Ben Czapnik and Bryan Mercurio, ‘The Use of Trade Coercion and China’s Model of “Passive-Aggressive Legalism”’ (2023) 26(2) Journal of International Economic Law 322-342.
- Bryan Mercurio, Capital Controls and International Economic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
- Chin Leng Lim and Ryan Mitchell, ‘Neutral Rights and Collective Countermeasures for Erga Omnes Violations’ (2023) 72(2) The International & Comparative Law Quarterly 361-391.
- Gregory Gordon, ‘Benjamin Ferencz and the Treatment of Victims in International Criminal Law: Mapping Out Lex Lata and Lex Ferenda (Ferencza?) in an Emerging Field’ (2023) 23 The International & Comparative Law Quarterly 239-283.
- Michael Ramsden, ‘Collective Legalization as a Strategic Function of the UN General Assembly in Responding to Human Rights Violations’ (2023) 40 (1) Wisconsin International Law Journal 51-112.
- Michael Ramsden, ‘Strategic Litigation in English Judicial Review’ (2023) Judicial Review.
- Michael Ramsden, ‘Strategic Litigation in Wartime: Judging the Russian Invasion of Ukraine through the Genocide Convention’ (2023) 56 (1), Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 181-210.
- Ryan Mitchell, ‘Economic Coercion in a Multipolar World’ ” (2023) Blog of the Law and Political Economy Project (LPE Project) housed at Yale Law School.
- Bryan Mercurio and Pratyush Nath Upreti, ‘The Legality of a Trips Waiver for Covid-19 Vaccines under International Investment Law’ (2022)71(2) International and Comparative Law Quarterly (Cambridge University Press) 323-355.
- Bryan Mercurio and Ronald Yu, Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows: Issues, Challenges and Impact (Anthem Press, 2022).
- Michael Ramsden, ‘Cooperation with United Nations Atrocity Inquiries’ (2022) 45(3) Fordham International Law Journal 473-512.
- Michael Ramsden, ‘Strategic Litigation before the International Court of Justice: Evaluating Impact in the Campaign for Rohingya Rights’ (2022) European Journal of International Law (Oxford University Press).
- Ryan Mitchell, Recentering the World: China and the Transformation of International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
- Bryan Mercurio and Ronald Yu, ‘An AI Policy for the (near) Future’ in Ingo Borchert and L. Alan Winters (eds), Addressing Impediments to Digital Trade (CEPR Press, 2021) 73-104.
- Chin Leng Lim, ‘Developments in International Investment Law and Policy in Asia’ in Lisa Sachs, Lise Johnson and Jesse Coleman (eds.), Yearbook on International Investment Law and Policy 2019 (Oxford University Press, 2021) 331-336.
- Chin Leng Lim, Jean Ho and Martins Paparinskis, International Investment Law and Arbitration, 2nd Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
- Jiangyuan Fu and Bryan Mercurio, ‘Do Beijing’s Capital Controls Restrict Hong Kong? Reality or Illusion’ (2021) 9(1) The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law 109-122.
- Michael Ramsden, ‘Accountability for Crimes against the Rohingya: Strategic Litigation in the International Court of Justice’ (Spring 2021) 26 Harvard Negotiation Law Review 153-191.
- Michael Ramsden, ‘The Crime of Genocide in General Assembly Resolutions: Legal Foundations and Effects’ (2021) Human Rights Law Review (Oxford University Press).
- Michael Ramsden, International Justice in the United Nations General Assembly (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021).
- Ryan Mitchell, ‘China’s Participation in the Second Hague Conference and the Concept of Equal Sovereignty in International Law’ (2021) Asian Journal of International Law 1-21.
- Sandra Marco Colino, ‘Towards a Global Big Tech Clampdown?’ (2021) Agenda Pública.
- Bryan Mercurio and Antoine Martin, ‘Regulating Tax Havens: Insights from the WTO Appellate Body Decision in Argentina – Financial Services’ (2020) 35(2) Banking and Finance Law Review 249-278.
- Chin Leng Lim, ‘Reaching for Utopia, Geneva as Inspiration for Investment Disputes?’ in Lewis et al (eds), The Post WTO International Legal Order: Utopian, Dystopian and Other Scenarios (Berlin: Springer, 2020).
- Gregory S. Gordon, ‘Integrity in International Criminal Law: Post-Conviction Proceedings’ in Morten Bergsmo and Viviane E. Dittrich (eds), Integrity in International Justice (Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, Brussels, 2020) 983-1024.
- Gregory S. Gordon, ‘Emergency Provisional Arrest at the ICC: A Proposal for Amending the Rome Statute in Cases of Imminent Atrocity’ (2020) PKI Global Justice Journal.
- Michael Ramsden, ‘International Responsibility of War Profiteers for Trafficking in Persons’ in Nina Jorgensen (ed) The International Criminal Responsibility of War’s Funders and Profiteers (Cambridge University Press, 2020).
- Michael Ramsden, ‘The Future of Wednesbury Unreasonableness in the Substantive Review of Administrative Discretion: A Hong Kong Perspective’ (2020) The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law.
- Mitsuo Matsushita and Chin Leng Lim, ‘Taming Leviathan as Merchant: Lingering Questions about the Practical Application of Trans-Pacific Partnership’s State-Owned Enterprises Rules’ (2020) 19(3) World Trade Review 402-423.
- Ryan Mitchell, ‘International Law as Project or System?’ (2020) 51(3) Georgetown Journal of International Law.
- Ryan Mitchell, ‘Myanmar and the Hegemonic Discourse of International Criminal Law’ in Morten Bergsmo, Wolfgang Kaleck and Kyaw Yin Hlaing (eds), Colonial Wrongs and Access to International Law (Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, Brussels, 2020) 285-316.
- Chin Leng Lim, ‘Finding a Workable Balance Between Investor Protection and the Public Interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership’ in Benedict Kingsbury et al, Megaregulation Contested: Global Economic Ordering After TPP (Oxford University Press, 2019).
- Chin Leng Lim, ‘The Function of the Transnational Chinese Contract’ (2019) 20(2-3) The Journal of World Investment & Trade 313-334.
- Marina Foltea and Bryan Mercurio, ‘A ban on electronic nicotine delivery systems: step one in the WTO discrimination analysis’ in Lukasz Gruszczynski (ed), The Regulation of E-cigarettes: International, European and National Challenges (Edward Elgar, 2019) 126-149.
- Ryan Mitchell, ‘Hegemony in a Multipolar World Order: Global Constitutionalism and the Großraum’ (2019) 1 Jus Cogens 129-150.
- Ryan Mitchell, ‘International Law as a Coercive Order: Hans Kelsen and the Transformations of Sanction’ (2019) 29(2) Indiana International & Comparative Law Review 245-302.
- Alan Gibb and Dicky Tsang, ‘Conflicting Limitation Periods: A Comparison Between Hong Kong and Mainland China’ (2022) 5(1) Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review 1-39.
- Dicky Tsang and Jyh-An Lee, ‘The Ping-Pong Olympics of Antisuit Injunction in FRAND Litigation’ (2022) 28 (2) Michigan Technology Law Review 305-383.
- Dicky Tsang, ‘From Coronation to Coronavirus: Covid-19, Force Majeure and Private International Law’ (2020) 44(1) Fordham International Law Journal.
Teaching
CUHK LAW prides itself in teaching excellence across different areas and programmes. International and transnational law are strategic focus themes of our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching agendas. We aim to train international lawyers in the best sense of the word who command transferrable substantive law knowledge as well as legal skills which empower them to become international legal leaders. In particular, the LLM in International Economic Law (IEL) programme is one of the most popular programmes offered by CUHK LAW. The IEL programme is designed to prepare students for practice in international commercial law. IEL courses focus on areas of practical importance, highlight emerging themes and latest trends and use integrated skills training approaches.
CUHK LAW courses on International and Transnational Law at the UG and PG level:
- LAWS3453 Aviation Law
- LAWS3230 International Commercial Dispute Resolution
- LAWS4280 International Criminal Law
- LAWS2320 International Investment Law Principles and Practice
- LAWS2202 International Law
- LAWS2200 International Legal Advocacy I
- LAWS2260 International Legal Advocacy II
- LAWS4420 International Sales Disputes
- LAWS4380 International Trade and Finance Law
- LAWS3450 Introduction to International Economic Law
- LAWS4489 Merger Control
- LAWS4000 Private International Law
- LAWS4260 Public International Law
- LAWS4300 Shipping Law
- LAWS3210 Transnational Business and the Law
- LAWS4340 WTO and the Law
(Browse individual course details here.)
- LAWS6339 Conflicts in International Commercial Litigation
- LAWS6320 Comparative Contract Law
- LAWS6322 Comparative Company Law
- LAWS6321 Comparative Corporate Governance
- LAWS6324 European Union Law
- LAWS6331 International and Comparative Energy Law
- LAWS6318 International and Comparative Intellectual Property Law
- LAWS6317 International Commercial Arbitration
- LAWS6304 International Economic Development and the Law
- LAWS6319 International Environmental Law
- LAWS6326 International Finance and Accounting
- LAWS6312 International Financial and Banking Law
- LAWS6329 International Investment Law Policy and Development
- LAWS6037 International Legal Advocacy II
- LAWS6048 International Legal Advocacy I
- LAWS6313 International Taxation
- LAWS6336 Investor-State Dispute Settlement
- LAWS6337 Law and Practice of Investment Arbitration
- LAWS6301 Law of International Business Transactions I
- LAWS6302 Law of International Business Transactions II
- LAWS6334 Merger Control
- LAWS6330 Preferential Trade Agreements: Theory and Practice
- LAWS6065 Principles of Aviation Law
- LAWS6303 Trans-national Legal Problems
- LAWS6311 World Trade Law
(Browse individual course details here.)