CUHK LAW – a Leading Teaching and Research Hub for Chinese Law
CUHK LAW is proud to be recognised as one of the world-leading institutions in terms of teaching and researching Chinese Law. Acknowledging on the one hand the ever-increasing importance of China and Chinese Law and on the other hand the breadth of Chinese Law in modern times, CUHK LAW has taken the conscious decision to arrange and brand its teaching and research activities in a topic-related manner using very diverse approaches. Teaching and research at CUHK LAW thus addresses the relationship(s) and interaction between China and other parts of the world, between the different Greater China regions as well as between different substantive legal topics which are covered by China’s legal system as they are addressed in other jurisdictions.
Find out more from our professors here.
The 91st Congregation of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the 2022 Master’s and Doctoral Degrees Graduation Ceremony – Faculty of Law Session were held on 24 November and 26 November 2022 respectively.
This year, 553 graduates of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Juris Doctor (JD), JD-MBA Double Degree, BBA-JD Double Degree, Master of Laws (LLM), and Doctor of Philosophy in Laws (PhD) programmes were conferred their degrees, 138 graduates of the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) programme were presented their certificates.
CUHK LAW was honoured by the presence of The Honourable Chief Justice Andrew CHEUNG Kui-nung, GBM, Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong SAR, as the Guest of Honour, who delivered an inspiring speech to the graduates at the Graduation Ceremony.
CUHK LAW wishes all graduates the very best in their future endeavours!
Following the great success of previous seminars since its launch in 2019, CUHK LAW hosted the 5th Female Legal Leaders Seminar on 22 November 2022. Moderated by Professor Queenie LAI, CUHK LAW Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning), the seminar was delivered by three distinguished female members of the Hong Kong legal community: Ms. May TAI, Asia Managing Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills, Ms. Kwun Yee CHEUNG, Partner, Baker McKenzie and Ms. Julianne DOE, President of Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers and Senior Consultant Dentons.
Each of the speakers shared with the next generation of lawyers their stories of personal growth, interest in law, career development and advice for overcoming challenges and obstacles as a female practitioner. To have a flourishing law career, all three speakers agreed that it requires more than just having legal knowledge or technical competencies – it takes grit, resilience, being pro-active, being deliberate in one’s thinking, adopting a ‘win or learn’ attitude and the ability to build trust, respect and quality relationships at work. The seminar attracted more than 150 participants including students, alumni, academics and practitioners.
The annual CUHK LAW Female Legal Leaders Seminar invites distinguished female members of the legal community to share their professional and personal experience. The seminar aims to enhance awareness regarding gender issues.
CUHK LAW successfully held the international conference on “Cryptocurrency and Central Bank Digital Currency: Opportunities, Risks, and Regulation” on 2-3 December 2022. The conference brought together regulators, practitioners and scholars to share their insights and perspectives on the subject matter in the broad context of recent economic, financial, technological and regulatory developments, complicated by geopolitical tensions and pandemic impacts. Mr. Joseph H. L. CHAN, JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, the Government of Hong Kong SAR, and senior representative for Mr. Laurence LI, SC, Chairman of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council, gave opening remarks for the conference.
The conference featured prominent scholars from prestigious institutions around the world, including the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Swiss, Luxembourg, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Mainland China and Hong Kong. It was innovatively arranged as an inter-disciplinary collaboration between CUHK LAW, the CUHK Business School and the CUHK Faculty of Engineering.
The conference was supported by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation, and Hang Seng Bank. It was also organised in partnership with the Banking and Finance Law Review, one of the most reputable international law journals in the field which will help disseminate the conference papers.
Learn more from the conference website here.
The Obligations Lab Asia of CUHK LAW’s Centre for Comparative and Transnational Law (CCTL) will hold a conference titled “Transformation or Adaptation? Private Law and New Technologies” on 12 May 2023.
The conference aims to present and confront various views on how private law should be ‘updated’ to meet the challenges arising from novel, technologically-enabled social and commercial practices. It will also explore how private law should facilitate or cushion the impact of new technologies.
Scholars and practitioners who are interested in presenting at the conference are invited to submit their abstracts and related information by 16 January 2023. Click here for details.
The 8th Year Greater China Legal History Seminar Series hosted three seminars on “The Legal Protection of Built Heritage in Hong Kong”, “Stirling Fessenden: The American Boss of Shanghai 1925 to 1939”, and “Civil Disputes in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.)” with over 1,600 online participants. Watch the seminar video recaps here.
Upcoming in 2023:
- “Between Brutality and Benevolence: The Historical Function of Capital Punishment in China” by Professor Michelle MIAO on 13 January. (Register Now!)
- “Grounded at Kai-Tak: Chinese Aircraft Impounded in Hong Kong 1949-1925” by Mr. Malcolm MERRY on 10 February.
- “Treaty for a Lost City – The Historical Background and Legal Implications of the Joint Declaration” by Professor Chin Leng LIM on 10 March.
Click here for the seminar updates.
The CUHK LAW Greater Bay Area (GBA) Forum successfully hosted in 2022 seven online seminars with more than 3,500 participants!
Topics discussed in this seminar series included: “Greater Bay Area Law and Legal Culture: A Reality Check”, “Recent Aviation Law Issues in the GBA”, “Private International Law in the Greater Bay Area: An Empirical Assessment of Qianhai Court Judgments”, “Regulatory Pathways for Renewable Energy Integration in the GBA”, “The Legal Implications of AI in the Context of Copyright and Transaction Automation in the GBA”, “Cross-border Enforcement of Securities Laws in the GBA”, and “Tax Law in the GBA”.
CUHK LAW thanks all speakers and participants for their support.
Upcoming seminars will be announced on the CUHK LAW website.
Mr. Ernest SOUTHWORTH joined CUHK LAW as a Professional Consultant. With over fifteen years of experience in higher education, he is a recipient of two Lord Dearing Awards (Excellence in Teaching 2017 and Excellence in Educational Leadership 2020) and also the Zhejiang Municipal Excellent Teacher Award (2018). He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has held roles at previous institutions as Director of Teaching and campus lead Senior Tutor in Education and Student Experience. He also has had experience in executive education and provided training to the senior management of China’s CRRC on FinTech and Artificial Intelligence Law. Mr. Southworth is an English Barrister whose practice was predominately in criminal defence.
Professor Yueming YAN joined as an Assistant Professor. Her research interests include international trade and investment law, international dispute resolution, sustainable development, China’s law, and empirical legal studies. She previously was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Singapore Management University where she taught WTO law, international sales law, and investment arbitration. She was also with the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy where she worked on topical issues concerning the Belt & Road Initiative and instructed training sessions for government officials on investment treaty commitments and multi-party dispute resolution. Professor Yan holds a PhD in law from McGill University.
- International Law Obligations on Climate Change Mitigation (Oxford University Press, 2022) by Professor Benoit MAYER.
- The Law of Unjust Enrichment in China: Necessary or Not? (Springer International Publishing, 2022) by CUHK LAW LLM and PhD graduate Siyi LIN.
- The Cambridge Handbook of Shareholder Engagement and Voting (Cambridge University Press, 2022) co-edited by Professor Chao XI.
- Recentering the World: China and the Transformation of International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2022) by Professor Ryan MITCHELL.
- Alternative Approaches to Human Rights: The Disparate Historical Paths of the European, Inter-American and African Regional Human Rights Systems (Cambridge University Press, 2022) by Professor Christopher ROBERTS.
- Routledge Handbook of Constitutional Law in Greater China (Routledge, 2022) co-edited by Professors Stuart HARGREAVES and Ryan MITCHELL.
- “Phasing out coal through electricity market regulation” in Common Market Law Review by Professor Anatole BOUTE.
- “How the Chinese Judiciary Works: New Insights from Data-Driven Research” in The China Review by Professor Chao XI.
- “When a Judicial Mistake Went Viral: The Diffusion of Law in China” in The China Review co-authored by Professor Chao XI.
- “Viagra Did Not Work, but Michael Jordan Still Made It: Trademark Policy Toward the Translation of Foreign Marks in China” in Duke Law & Technology Review co-authored by Professor Jyh-An LEE.
- “Liberalising the Chinese Market: State-Owned Enterprise Disciplines in CAI” in The Journal of World Investment & Trade by CUHK LAW PhD student Xueji SU.
- “The effectiveness of judicial and public enforcement of regulation on related-party transaction in China” in Journal of Corporate Law Studies by Professor James ZENG.
- “Legalization of live game streaming through statutory licence in China” in Computer Law & Security Review co-authored by Professor Jyh-An LEE.
- “The Case for Disregarding Entity Shielding” in Berkeley Business Law Journal by Professor James ZENG.
- “Contract Law and Financial Regulation in China: An Illegality Perspective” in Journal of Contract Law by Professor Chao XI.
- “Conflicting Limitation Periods: A Comparison Between Hong Kong and Mainland China” in Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review co-authored by Professors Alan GIBB and Dicky TSANG.
- “Uncovering trade secrets in China: an empirical study of civil litigation from 2010 to 2020” in Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (Oxford University Press) co-authored by Professor Jyh-An LEE.
- “Extraterritorial Jurisdiction of China’s New Securities Law: Policies, Problems and Proposals” in Journal of Corporate Law Studies co-authored by Professor Robin Hui HUANG.
- “The Human Community of Fate: A Conceptual History of China’s Ordoglobal Idea” in Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development by Professor Ryan MITCHELL.
- “Constitutional Dismemberments, Basic Structure Doctrine, and Pragmatic Justifications in Context: A Rejoinder” in International Journal of Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press) co-authored by Professor Rehan ABEYRATNE.
- “Hong Kong’s Revised Leniency Policy and Its Potential to Deter Cartels” in Steven van Uytsel, Mark Fenwick and Yoshiteru Uemura (eds), Leniency in Asian Competition Law (Cambridge University Press, 2022) by Professor Sandra MARCO COLINO.
- ‘“Trust” and “Self-Accountability” in the Protection of Privacy: Responding to the Rise of International Data Protection Standards in Muslim Countries’, in Adnan Trakic (ed), Shari’ah and Common Law: The Challenge of Harmonisation (De Gruyter, 2022) co-authored by Professor Normann WITZLEB.
- “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China: Legal Response to Covid-19” in Jeff King and Octavio Ferraz et al (eds), The Oxford Compendium of National Legal Responses to Covid-19 (Oxford University Press) co-authored by Professor Michael RAMSDEN.
- “Building a Coherent Legal Framework for Vertical Price Restrictions in China” in Antitrust Chronicle of Competition Policy International (September 2022) by Professor Sandra MARCO COLINO.
- “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: How Do Chinese Minority Shareholders Vote When Controlling Shareholders Change Their Minds – an Empirical Assessment” (無奈的贊成: 控股股東變更承諾背景下中小股東表决行為的實證研究) in Academic Journal of Shandong University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) [山東大學學報 (哲學社會科學版)] co-authored by Professor Chao XI.
- “Weaponizing Energy: Energy, Trade, and Investment Law in the New Geopolitical Reality” in American Journal of International Law (Cambridge University Press) by Professor Anatole BOUTE.
- “The Untold Story of the First Copyright Statute of China: Exploring the 1910 Copyright Code of the Great Qing Dynasty” in P. Sean Morris (ed), Intellectual Property and the Law of Nations, 1860-1920 (Brill | Nijhoff, 2022) co-authored by Professor Jyh-An LEE and CUHK LAW PhD student Yangzi LI.
- Professor Sandra MARCO COLINO received the CUHK Young Researcher Award 2021.
- Professor Benoit MAYER received the inaugural Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W N Cheung Prize for Research Excellence 2021-22.
- Professors Steven GALLAGHER and Hao ZHANG received the CUHK LAW Teaching Excellence Awards 2021-22.
- PhD student Can EKEN received the CUHK Postgraduate Research Output Award 2021.
- LLB students CHEUNG Hei-yin and WANG Mu-chi received the HSBC Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong) Scholarship 2021-22.
- LLB student LIU Chengcheng received the CUHK Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarships for Excellence 2021-22.
Willa CHAN | Hong Kong (LLB 2012, PCLL 2013)
Founding Principal, Willa Legal
Willa Legal, founded by our own alumna Willa Chan, is celebrating its first anniversary. Willa Legal is a Hong Kong law firm that focuses on private fund formation matters.
“I would like to thank CUHK LAW for nurturing a strong alumni network. This network has been great support for my ventures and career development.”
Richard TSE | Hong Kong (LLM LCL 2011, JD 2016)
Senior Manager, Internal Audit, CK Asset Holdings Ltd.
“Though I trained as a CPA, I always found it interesting to keep myself abreast of knowledge in various other disciplines. After I completed a couple of business degrees, I decided in 2009 to pursue the LLM in Common Law. On completing this in 2011, I was convinced that Law was an interesting discipline I wanted to further explore. I was honored to be admitted to the JD program, which offered me the opportunity to learn a wider range of different areas of law.
Though the accounting profession largely deals with figures, with legal knowledge I could apply legal concepts such as IRAC to tackle problems by identifying audit or accounting issues as well as relevant laws or company policies. By applying these I could make valued suggestions to top management and clients. I often employ other legal concepts such as ‘subjective recklessness’, ‘subjective objective tests’ and ‘proportionality’ in discussions with my colleagues. My legal education has also helped me in many practical ways, making me much easier, for instance, when reading commercial judgements or dealing with our legal team.
While I probably will not change my professional track in the coming years, I strongly encourage one to read for a law degree. It not only offers academic achievement, but also enhances one’s analytical skills and critical thinking, which are so much called for in all professions.”
Alice WONG | Hong Kong (JD 2019, PCLL 2020)
Associate, Loeb & Loeb LLP
Alice has a doctorate in Biochemistry and is a JD and PCLL graduate of CUHK LAW. She is now an associate at Loeb & Loeb LLP assisting her biotech and healthcare clients on various transactional and IP matters. During her first career as a patent specialist, she was amazed by the intersection of law and technology and decided to pursue a law degree to assist her clients on a wider spectrum.
Alice WONG | Hong Kong (JD 2019, PCLL 2020)
Associate, Loeb & Loeb LLP
Alice has a doctorate in Biochemistry and is a JD and PCLL graduate of CUHK LAW. She is now an associate at Loeb & Loeb LLP assisting her biotech and healthcare clients on various transactional and IP matters. During her first career as a patent specialist, she was amazed by the intersection of law and technology and decided to pursue a law degree to assist her clients on a wider spectrum.
“I am excited to share that I recently qualified in Hong Kong. My journey in the legal profession began on the day I submitted my application for the JD program. During this degree, I met so many inspiring and wonderful people and learned tremendously not only legal knowledge and skills but also how to be a better person.
I am very excited to start a new chapter in life and determined to be a transactional and IP lawyer serving the biotech and healthcare space and teaming up with inventors and entrepreneurs who are passionate about their technologies making a better world.
May I express my heartfelt gratitude to my family, mentors, friends, supervisors and colleagues for coming into my life and for their support. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I also thank the Faculty for all its teaching from day one till today. It is amazing that I can still learn from Faculty members after graduation as well as practitioners and scholars who the Faculty invites to present. I will definitely continue to join and support the Faculty’s events.”
Celine L. CEN | Shenzhen (LLM IEL 2021)
Trainee, Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm (Shenzhen Office)
“It has been nearly a year since I graduated from CUHK LAW. Back then, I was thinking hard about what I should do and where to start my career. Since I finished my LLM (International Economic Law), I interned in 2021 at several arbitral institutions in Hong Kong. At these I got to know the big names I had heard of in the field of arbitration, learn what people do and how they work, and understand how things have been evolving in this field. All this experience and these insights have been beneficial to my job hunting and current work.
During my LLM studies, there seemed to be numerous “ideal” career choices open to me. One was to apply for the JD, hopefully getting qualified and practising in Hong Kong. Another was to go for a PhD and onto an academic path. Yet another was staying in Hong Kong to be a paralegal or in-house counsel, or returning to the Mainland to qualify as a PRC lawyer. My peers had made their plans well before me, while I was all at sea. I did not want to hurry into a job just because it seemed the time to do so in anyone else’s opinion. I also believed that one’s choice of first job was very important and worth carefully
considering. In the end I became certain that I wanted to do cross-border dispute resolution work at the GBA. I thought hard and carefully what exactly I should do and which city to go to. I spoke with different people, including both Hong Kong and Mainland lawyers, professors and friends, whose support, help and sharing of insights I appreciated. Finally, I decided to pursue a career as a lawyer in Shenzhen. As of now I am happy with that decision.
Back, then, though, when I returned to Guangdong at the very end of 2021, only a few days after I finished my internship, I did not start job hunting right away. My LLM study and internship experience in Hong Kong were fruitful and rewarding. But until they ended I had not really taken a break for myself. I knew that what I wanted then was a long holiday before I began a career. Others in that position might have felt “age anxiety”, which I was lucky to have got rid of a long time ago or even never really felt. Without this “age anxiety”, I am happy with my current situation, and remain patient so that I can make better decisions.
I now have begun my career in the field of cross-border dispute resolution, which I enjoy. I am happy in this field, where I have met people, learned things and “grown up” quickly. But all that is another story.
The word “happy” has appeared quite often here. Happiness is my life goal, a condition in which I would like to keep myself. It is also an idea I am constantly exploring, an idea whose meaning I constantly try to enlarge and diversify.”
Celine L. CEN | Shenzhen (LLM IEL 2021)
Trainee, Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm (Shenzhen Office)
“It has been nearly a year since I graduated from CUHK LAW. Back then, I was thinking hard about what I should do and where to start my career. Since I finished my LLM (International Economic Law), I interned in 2021 at several arbitral institutions in Hong Kong. At these I got to know the big names I had heard of in the field of arbitration, learn what people do and how they work, and understand how things have been evolving in this field. All this experience and these insights have been beneficial to my job hunting and current work.
During my LLM studies, there seemed to be numerous “ideal” career choices open to me. One was to apply for the JD, hopefully getting qualified and practising in Hong Kong. Another was to go for a PhD and onto an academic path. Yet another was staying in Hong Kong to be a paralegal or in-house counsel, or returning to the Mainland to qualify as a PRC lawyer. My peers had made their plans well before me, while I was all at sea. I did not want to hurry into a job just because it seemed the time to do so in anyone else’s opinion. I also believed that one’s choice of first job was very important and worth carefully considering. In the end I became certain that I wanted to do cross-border dispute resolution work at the GBA. I thought hard and carefully what exactly I should do and which city to go to. I spoke with different people, including both Hong Kong and Mainland lawyers, professors and friends, whose support, help and sharing of insights I appreciated. Finally, I decided to pursue a career as a lawyer in Shenzhen. As of now I am happy with that decision.
Back, then, though, when I returned to Guangdong at the very end of 2021, only a few days after I finished my internship, I did not start job hunting right away. My LLM study and internship experience in Hong Kong were fruitful and rewarding. But until they ended I had not really taken a break for myself. I knew that what I wanted then was a long holiday before I began a career. Others in that position might have felt “age anxiety”, which I was lucky to have got rid of a long time ago or even never really felt. Without this “age anxiety”, I am happy with my current situation, and remain patient so that I can make better decisions.
I now have begun my career in the field of cross-border dispute resolution, which I enjoy. I am happy in this field, where I have met people, learned things and “grown up” quickly. But all that is another story.
The word “happy” has appeared quite often here. Happiness is my life goal, a condition in which I would like to keep myself. It is also an idea I am constantly exploring, an idea whose meaning I constantly try to enlarge and diversify.”
Share with us any updates (e.g. life stories, good news, career achievements) by email to law.alumni@cuhk.edu.hk.
Dr. Bernard MURPHY, Partner of Howse Williams and a medically qualified solicitor, introduced his medical and healthcare law practice at the seminar for CUHK LAW alumni on 1 November 2022.
Dr. Murphy discussed the law on claims for damages in medical negligence cases. He gave an introduction to Medical Council and Coroners Court proceedings. He also discussed developments in gross negligence manslaughter cases in Hong Kong.
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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