International and transnational law are becoming increasingly important in times when globalisation of the world’s economies continues while efforts to localise – or at least near-shore business – are gaining momentum. The resulting dichotomy in trade and investment policy trends lead to many frictions at the levels of domestic, regional and international law. All players in the international and transnational law arena have to respond thus creating a huge demand for creative research and for the forward-looking training of lawyers who command the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed.
Find out from CUHK LAW professors how their groundbreaking research is shaping the international and transnational law world and how we are preparing students for careers as international legal leaders here.
CUHK LAW won the 15th Leiden-Sarin International Air Law Moot Court Competition!
The competition was hosted by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City on 18-20 April 2024. CUHK LAW entered the semi-finals as one of the 17 strongest teams from around the world, advanced to the finals, and won the championship. In addition, CUHK LAW was awarded the prizes for Best Memorial Respondent and Best Oral Arguments Respondent.
The CUHK LAW team consisted of PCLL students Brian Hung Hei POON, Jaclyn Lok Hang MA, and Rhine Yang LIU. The team’s coach was Professor Jae Woon LEE and the student coach was PCLL student Ching Pang LI.
Learn more here.
Congratulations to our JD student, Vivian KONG Man Wai on winning Hong Kong’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024!
Vivian represented Hong Kong in the women’s individual épée competition at the Olympic Games in Paris. Her win in the competition not only claimed her the first-ever Olympic gold personally but also the third gold medal in Hong Kong’s history.
We are so proud of you, Vivian! Your achievements, in particular your fighting spirit, are greatly inspiring and encouraging!
The Research Grants Council of Hong Kong has awarded five competitive grants from its General Research Fund 2024-25 to the following CUHK LAW professors:
- Professor Robin HUANG received HK$1,067,230 for his project entitled “China’s Data Protection Regime in the context of Fintech”; the Co-Investigators include Professor Jyh-An LEE.
- Professor Chin Leng LIM received HK$587,120 for his project entitled “Chartered Companies and Post-Colonial Territories: North Borneo as a Comparative Study”.
- Professor Ryan MITCHELL received HK$795,000 for his project entitled “Reassessing the Role of Economic Sanctions in the Enforcement of International Law”.
- Professor Christopher ROBERTS received HK$671,605 for his project entitled “The Origins of Development: Anti-Colonial Resistance, Social Struggles and Labor Reform in the Interwar British Empire”.
- Professor Chao XI received HK$996,300 for his project entitled “Regulating Outbound Data Flows in China”.
Learn more about CUHK LAW’s research excellence here.
The Sir T.L. Yang Society High Table Dinner organised by CUHK LAW was held on 21 May 2024 at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Happy Valley Racecourse. Over 200 friends and leaders of the Hong Kong legal community, Distinguished Professional Mentors (DPMs), accomplished alumni, Faculty colleagues and undergraduate students gathered to celebrate the students’ completion of their first year of study and to bid farewell to the graduating class.
The event began with welcome remarks by Professor Lutz-Christian Wolff, Dean of CUHK LAW, followed by the presentation of admission scholarships and Dean’s List awards. We were graced by the presence of the former Chief Justice of Hong Kong, Dr. The Hon. Geoffrey MA, GBM, KC, SC, CUHK LAW Honorary Professor, who delivered an inspiring High Table address to the students.
CUHK LAW is grateful to all new and long-time DPMs, who all are leaders of the legal community, for their kind involvement, for staying engaged as a community, and for volunteering their time despite their busy schedule to provide invaluable advice to our students.
CUHK LAW hosted a cocktail reception for LLM students at the CUHK Graduate Law Centre on 6 May 2024.
The evening was enjoyed by all participants and was a great opportunity for the students to mix and mingle with classmates and teachers in a more relaxed setting than the classroom.
CUHK LAW wishes all students the best in their future endeavours!
View photos of the event here.
CUHK LAW hosted three international conferences during April to May 2024:
On 19-20 April, CUHK LAW organised the conference “Digital Platforms and Competition Law”. The focus of the event was on the ways in which jurisdictions across the world are tackling the problems associated with the power of digital platforms. Participants had diverse backgrounds and expertise. We heard the perspectives of enforcers, practitioners, in-house counsel and academics from the fields of law, business and marketing. The focus was competition law, but the relevance of other disciplines including data protection, contract law and sector-specific regulation (particularly the EU’s Digital Markets Act) was also explored. Read more here.
On 10 May, the Obligations Lab Asia of CUHK LAW’s Centre for Comparative and Transnational Law (CCTL) organised a hybrid conference on “Private Law in Greater China: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”. Over 200 attendees joined to listen to academic speakers from Australia, Mainland China, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Italy, Macau SAR, Portugal and Vietnam. The presentations discussed how work in contract, tort and other areas of private law can support and promote the continued modernisation of law in Greater China. Read more here.
CUHK LAW is hosting an international conference on “Rethinking Jurisdiction in Private International Law” on 1-2 August 2024 at LT1A, 1/F, Cheng Yu Tung Building, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Supported by Hitotsubashi University, this conference offers a forum for academics and practitioners to rethink and exchange ideas on the evolving features of ‘jurisdiction’ in the context of private international law. The first day is conducted in English, while the second day is mainly in Mandarin Chinese.
Learn more about the conference here.
The 18th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association (ECLS) will be held in Hong Kong from 19-21 September 2024. The conference will be hosted and organised by CUHK LAW.
ECLS is dedicated to advancing comparative and interdisciplinary research in Chinese law. Its Annual Conference is recognised as a premier forum for scholars, legal practitioners, and policymakers from around the globe to meet and debate the latest developments in Chinese law. The Annual Conference also serves as a platform for initiating research collaborations.
Learn more about the conference here.
Mr. Hans-Guenther HERRMANN joins CUHK LAW as Professional Consultant. He has worked as a corporate and commercial lawyer for close to 30 years and is qualified to practise at the Paris and California Bars. In his last role before joining CUHK, Mr. Herrmann was Senior Legal Counsel for Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea at The Kraft Heinz Company based in Melbourne. Before that, he was a member of the Hong Kong office of the U.S. law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for 20 years. Mr. Herrmann’s experience as a practitioner focused on corporate and commercial transactions, compliance and competition and consumer law.
Professor Christopher ROBERTS will be promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with effect from 6 August 2024.
Professor Roberts’ research interests include legal history, human rights, British Empire, international institutions, international procedural law, public international law, labor law, and evidence law. He is the Chair of the Transnational Legal History Group at CUHK LAW’s Centre for Comparative and Transnational Law. He has worked as an expert legal consultant addressing issues such as constitutional and legal reform, the rule of law and human rights with intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations and mandate holders.
- Research Handbook on Plea Bargaining and Criminal Justice (Edward Elgar, 2024) co-edited by Professor Luke MARSH and the CUHK LAW Founding Dean Professor (em.) Mike McCONVILLE.
- Research on the Legal Regime for Insider Trading: International Comparison and Chinese Experiences (《内幕交易法律制度研究：國際比較與本土實證》) (Peking University Press, 2024) co-authored by Professor Robin Hui HUANG.
- “Corruption and the (Un)Clean Hands Doctrine in Investor-State Arbitration: Definitional and Reciprocity Challenges” in ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal (Oxford University Press) by Professor Yueming YAN.
- “Same-Sex Unions in Hong Kong and the Misuse of Comparative Law: Sham Tsz Kit v Secretary for Justice” in The Modern Law Review by Professor Michael RAMSDEN.
- “The Temptation of Occam’s Razor: Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Party Autonomy” in Arbitration International (Oxford University Press) by CUHK LAW graduates Ada Yee Lam LEUNG and Samuel Yee Ching LEUNG.
- “The Aims and Methods of Postcolonial International Law” in Recueil des cours/Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law, Tome 437 (Brill | Nijhof, 2024) by Professor Chin Leng LIM.
- “Multi-Tiered International Anti-Corruption Cooperation in Asia: A Review of Treaties and Prospects” in Nobumichi Teramura, Luke Nottage, and Bruno Jetin (eds), Corruption and Illegality in Asian Investment Arbitration (Springer, 2024) co-authored by Professor Yueming YAN.
- “FRT Regulation in China” in Rita Matulionyte and Monika Zalnieriute (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Facial Recognition in the Modern State (Cambridge University Press, 2024) co-authored by Professor Jyh-An LEE and CUHK LAW PhD student Peng ZHOU.
- “Anxious Scrutiny in Hong Kong Administrative Law: Origins, Adaptations and Techniques” in Asian Journal of Comparative Law (Cambridge University Press) by Professor Michael RAMSDEN.
- “A Critical Analysis of the Human Trafficking Legal Framework in Hong Kong: Efficacy and Recommendations” in Cogent Social Sciences by CUHK LAW JD graduate Noble Po Kan LO.
- “Legal and Regulatory Harmonization in the Greater Bay Area” in The China Review by Professor Chao XI.
- “Conceptualizing Greater Bay Area Law and Legal Culture” in The China Review by Professor Lutz-Christian WOLFF.
- “Proof-of-Foreign Law Issues in Greater Bay Area” in The China Review by Professor Dicky TSANG.
- “Hong Kong as a Center of International and Regional Aviation in the GBA Initiative” in The China Review by Professor Jae Woon LEE and CUHK LAW PCLL and JD graduates Ho Ming LAM and Max Ting Fung LUI.
- “Regulatory Pathways of Renewable Energy Integration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” in The China Review by Professor Hao ZHANG.
- “The Vagrancy Law Model: Governing Through Social Contagion in the Anglo World, c. 1824-1932” in Lynette J. Chua and Jack Jin Gary Lee (eds.) Contagion, Technology and Law at the Limits (Hart Publishing, 2024) by Professor Christopher ROBERTS.
- “証券仲裁的禀賦特性與制度創新：自願性與强制性的衝突與調和 (The Characteristics and Institutional Innovation of Securities Arbitration: Conflict and Reconciliation between Voluntary and Mandatory Nature)” in Shanghai Jiaotong University Law Review (交大法學) by Professor Robin Hui HUANG and CUHK LAW PhD graduate Chao WANG.
- “Contract Law, Form Flexibility and the Importance of Legal Reasoning” in Journal of Contract Law by Professor Lutz-Christian WOLFF.
- Professors Kevin CHENG, Robin HUANG, Noam NOKED and Chao XI received CUHK research awards for 2023-24.
- Professor Stuart HARGREAVES received a Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant (TDLEG) 2022-2025.
- Professor Jae Woon LEE was elected as the Third Vice-Chairperson at the 39th Session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Legal Committee.
- The CUHK LAW team performed with distinction in the 21st Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot.
- CUHK LAW PhD student Shuqin MEI received the Ernst Mach Grant for PhD Students and Post-Docs for 2023-24.
- CUHK LAW LLM student KWOK Fung Ying was awarded the UGC Targeted Taught Postgraduate Programmes Fellowships Scheme 2024/25.
Ronald KAN | Taiwan (LLM CBL, 2008)
Foreign Lawyer, TaipeiLaw Attorneys-at-Law
“I studied AI in Taiwan as an exchange student in 2020. During COVID, it was difficult for me to travel between Hong Kong and Taiwan. I spent most of my time in Taiwan that year and attended various Bar Association events. As interaction with the legal profession became more frequent, I decided to start a foreign law firm in Taoyuan and joined the Taoyuan Bar Association.
I passed the exam and obtained the licence for Family Trust Advisor in Taiwan and is preparing the licence exam to become an Elderly Financial Planner. With the Taiwanese Migration Act amended to allow lawyers to handle migration work, my practice is expanding into overseas migration. I recently joined TaipeiLaw Attorneys-at-Law, a firm with over 40 lawyers and offices in four cities in Taiwan.
Because of my Mainland and international background, I was invited to join the Cross-Strait Affairs Committee of the Taoyuan Bar Association and International Affairs Committee of the Taiwan Bar Association. My role of Chairman of the Taiwan Sub-group of Greater China Legal Affairs Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong enables me to connect the two associations to sign an MOU in July 2024.
Besides work, I learnt the Hakka language in Taiwan and am studying at the Hakka Institute of National Central University in Taoyuan to further my cultural preservation efforts in Hong Kong on Hakka, one of Hong Kong’s indigenous cultures.”
Catherine WONG | Hong Kong (PCLL 2016)
Associate, Conyers Dill & Pearman
Catherine Wong has recently been appointed by the esteemed Honourable Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, GBM to serve as a Foreign Lawyer Member of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel for a term of three years. The Panel is responsible for addressing disciplinary cases brought by the Law Society of Hong Kong against solicitors, registered foreign lawyers, and trainee solicitors in Hong Kong for alleged professional misconduct.
Catherine has also recently been co-opted by the Standing Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong as the only new member of the Insolvency Law Committee for the 2024 term. The Insolvency Law Committee examines and reports on changes and potential improvements to the law and practice of insolvency for both individuals and companies in Hong Kong. Additionally, the Committee occasionally reviews and suggests reforms for laws related to receiverships, secured creditors, and the liquidation of companies and bankruptcy.
Catherine is a disputes and restructuring lawyer qualified to practise in England & Wales, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and Hong Kong. She also represents clients in Cayman Islands matters.
Catherine is humbled and honoured to be entrusted with these responsibilities and looks forward to contributing her service to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel and the Insolvency Law Committee.
Share with us any updates (e.g. life stories, good news, career achievements) by email to law.alumni@cuhk.edu.hk.
Since its establishment in 2004, CUHK LAW has greatly benefitted from the help of friends and supporters. Granted in many different forms such help has allowed us to pursue research and teaching excellence.
We are most grateful for your continued support. Unless otherwise specified, all donations received will be used for the general development of CUHK LAW based on priorities and needs at different points of time.
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