Congratulation to Former AIIFL Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Kuzi Charamba

Congratulations to Former AIIFL Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Kuzi Charamba, whose sustainable finance startup “Tese”, was one of the three winning teams in the “G20 TechSprint 2024 – Technology for the Planet challenge”, a joint initiative between the G20 Presidency and the BIS (Bank for International Settlements) Innovation Hub to seek out best-in-class technological innovations aimed at solving challenges facing the global central banking and regulatory community. This year 15 shortlisted teams from around the world competed to develop innovative technological solutions to address sustainable finance challenges related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

More details are available here.

Stephanie Biedermann awarded Early Career Teaching Award 2024

Congratulations to Ms. Stephanie Biedermann who was awarded the Early Career Teaching Award under the University of Hong Kong Teaching Excellence Award Scheme (TEAS) 2024.

Stephanie is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, the Programme Director of the Master of Laws in Human Rights, and is a US-licensed lawyer. She specializes in international law, immigration, forced migration, and discrimination issues, particularly for refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrant workers. Her legal experience includes work in the US, the Middle East, and Hong Kong, with a focus on public interest law and access to justice issues as they relate to individual client services, policy decisions, and the development of clinical opportunities for law students. Stephanie teaches across a variety of subject areas at HKU. She is the course coordinator for the Legal Research and Writing programme for LLB students, is Co-Director of the Rule of Law Education project (ROLE), and also teaches courses in human rights and refugee law.

In her time at HKU, Stephanie has emphasized the practical applications of classroom learning, to encourage students to use their creativity, to take initiative to design their own projects, and to excite them about what is possible when they implement what they have learned. Stephanie’s teaching seeks to create opportunities for students to practice and demonstrate a full range of legal skills. She believes that balanced learning requires not only subject matter knowledge, but also practical awareness, understanding the needs of an audience or client, and developing good judgment. She has also incorporated the use of GenAI into to the legal writing curriculum to encourage thoughtful, critical use of this new tool. 

The Teaching Excellence Award Scheme (TEAS) aims to recognise, reward and promote excellence in teaching at the University. Under the Scheme, there are four categories of awards, viz. University Distinguished Teaching Award (UDTA), Outstanding Teaching Award (OTA), Early Career Teaching Award (ECTA) and Teaching Innovation Award (TIA). 

Click here to view the list of 2024 TEAS Winners.

Richard Cullen on Dicey in Hong Kong (new book chapter)

"Dicey in Hong Kong"
Richard Cullen
in Twenty-First Century Perspectives on the Scholarship of AV Dicey, edited by Catherine Marshall and Céline Roynier (Bloomsbury Publishing, December 2024), Chapter 13

Published online: December 2024

Abstract: When one reviews authoritarian jurisdictions with a positive history of adhering to Rule of Law shaped governance systems, Hong Kong is rightly regarded as an exemplar. British Hong Kong (BHK) provides a remarkable story of the effective development and consolidation of such a system, which has continued to apply since July, 1997, when BHK became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) within the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under the One Country Two Systems (OCTS) governing principle. This chapter: reviews how “Diceyan Constitutionalism” was fundamental, within the pivotal context of “Chinese Familism”, in shaping the development of governance institutions and pivotal operational procedures within this British Colony; and discusses how that system has coped with the most recent, radical political structure reforms imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing (following an extended period of exceptionally violent political disorder) as Hong Kong actively comprehends its future as an inalienable part of China.

Yanru Chen won the Second Prize in the 2024 Annual Conference of the Chinese Society of International Economic Law

Congratulations to Ms Yanru Chen, our Ph.D. student, on receiving the Second Prize for Excellent Papers for Young Scholars in the “2024 Annual Conference of the Chinese Society of International Economic Law”. Her paper “International Regulatory Cooperation Towards Good Regulatory Practices: Reflections Based on the Evolution of Norms” was presented during Panel I on the topic of “Theoretical Issues of International Economic Law with Chinese Characteristics”, on 2 November 2024.

This Annual Conference was hosted by the Chinese Society of International Economic Law (CSIEL) and jointly organized by the Law School of Xiamen University, from 1 to 3 November 2024, in Xiamen, Fujian Province. The awarded articles underwent anonymous review.

New Chinese book by Sida Liu: Letters on Sociology of Law (Peking University Press)

法社會學信札(Letters on Sociology of Law)
劉思達(Sida Liu)
北京大學出版社(Peking University Press)
出版日期 (Publication date)：Nov 2024

簡介(Description): 本書採用類似於《波斯人信札》的書信文體，通過一位法科學生與一位社會學教授的書信對話，深入淺出地闡釋法律社會學的發展歷史和經典理論、法律社會學的研究方法、論述法律系統的社會結構與變遷以及一些經典實證研究等，並應用這些理論與方法對中國法律實踐的種種現實問題進行探討，在看似大相徑庭的學術知識之間建立起關聯。

本書不同於一般的學術專著和傳統教材，更像是一個學習法律社會學的路線圖。文后還按信件順序給出了參考文獻，讀者可以按圖索驥汲取更多營養，不必拘泥於某種對理論或者學術傳統的通常解釋。

除了介紹和解讀法社會學，還有一個面向，就是書信體帶來的“符號互動主義”的展現。通過兩個人的對話，使理論的源流、意涵和指向更清晰，同時也展示了年輕學者的一些學術人生中的困惑、掙扎與努力。而且通信的過程，就是不斷建構兩個人之間的關係，這種人與人之間的關係是一直動態變化着的。

Shahla Ali's Project Update with the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

With a growing attention to inclusivity and representation in the context of increased global integration, Professor Shahla Ali's research is inspired by the necessity to expand inclusivity and collaboration in the development of global legal instruments, as well as in the study and participation in cross-border dispute resolution and in the resolution of infrastructure disputes.

Her work includes "Forming Transnational Dispute Settlement Norms. Soft Law and the Role of UNCITRAL''s Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific", "Comparative and Transnational Dispute Resolution", "Diversity in International Arbitration", and a recent article "The Seeming Paradox of Prevention".

To learn more about this, and to hear Professor Ali talk about her research on access to justice, watch this short video prepared for the ITA Academic Council "What I Am Working On" project.

(Please click here to view the original post prepared by ITA on LinkedIn.)

Po Jen Yap on Dialogic Judicial Review and First World Autocracies (new book chapter)

"Dialogic Judicial Review and First World Autocracies"
Po Jen Yap
in Madhav Khosla (ed),Vicki C Jackson (ed),Redefining Comparative Constitutional Law: Essays for Mark Tushnet (Oxford University Press),Chapter 19,pp.274 - 292
Published online: November 2024

Abstract: Dialogic or weak-form review is the only viable and effective path for courts operating in First World autocracies. The judicial use of strong-form review to address problems posed by sedition laws and restrictions on the franchise—as Mark Tushnet suggests—would be counterproductive as this would only be to the detriment of the courts. At the same time, I argue that dialogic review is not judicial abdication. I will also show how weak-form review has enhanced rights protection in Singapore and Hong Kong, and has imposed soft but meaningful controls on state power in these autocracies. Precisely because these autocracies want to remain First World, the perceived independence of the courts must be preserved for their governments to retain talent and continued investments in the economy. Governments in First World autocracies are sensitive to global businesses’ perception of the regime’s commitment to the rule of law as that directly impacts the entity’s economic future. This is unlike military dictatorships and banana republics, where the rent-seeking behavior of autocrats is driven primarily by the self-interest of its cabal. Therefore, in First World autocracies, so long as the courts respect the regime’s plenary agenda-setting powers, the government will in turn acquiesce to the judiciary’s calibrated show of force to preserve rights.

Julian Nowag and Carla Valeria Patiño on Enough of Fairness: Pre-Emption and the DMA (new book chapter)

"Enough of Fairness: Pre-Emption and the DMA"
Julian Nowag and Carla Valeria Patiño
in Annegret Engel(ed),Xavier Groussot(ed),Gunnar Thor Petursson(ed),New Directions in Digitalisation: Perspectives from EU Competition Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights,(Springer, November 2024),pp. 61 - 74
Published online: November 2024

Abstract: This chapter looks at the DMA through the prism of pre-emption and the relationship between EU and national law. It explains the fundamentals of pre-emption in EU law and shows the consequences for the DMA and national rules that are to ensure fairness in the digital market space. It argues that fairness in the digital market with regard to business users and consumers has been exhaustively regulated by the DMA. Thus, existing and future national rules that aim to address additional fairness matters are pre-empted and cannot be applied to gatekeepers. The only option Member States have is to introduce further fairness related matters into their competition laws which elevates the well-known debates about the relationship between competition law and fairness to a new level.

Scott Veitch on The Perfect Storm: Artificial Intelligence, Financialisation, and Venture Legalism (Law and Critique)

"The Perfect Storm: Artificial Intelligence, Financialisation, and Venture Legalism"
Scott Veitch
Law and Critique
Published online: November 2024

Abstract: This article analyses the limits of legal norms and institutions in holding to account the emerging power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. It demonstrates how a symbiosis of capitalism and new forms of digital power is mutating to produce novel and dangerous styles of organised irresponsibility that go beyond the reach of conventional legal mechanisms. It draws on the work of Pashukanis, Baudrillard, and Alain Supiot to show how this transformation is taking place. Referring to the role of AI in the spread of Financial Technologies, it introduces a new term – ‘venture legalism’ – to describe how unprecedented risks are currently being created. It concludes by observing how ethical and democratic registers are equally implausible modes of accountability.

New book by Alec Stone Sweet and Wayne Sandholtz: The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Courts: The Dilemma of Effectiveness (Oxford University Press)

The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Courts: The Dilemma of Effectiveness
Alec Stone Sweet, Wayne Sandholtz
Oxford University Press
Published online: July 2024

Abstract: The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Courts addresses three key topics. First, the book provides an account of the origins and evolution of six regional human rights courts. In each, judges sought to overcome political forces and legal obstacles that threatened to neutralize the regime and render it irrelevant to the daily lives of the people. Second, it analyzes the emergence of a common “jurisprudence of effectiveness,” the express purpose of which has been to raise standards of rights protection within nascent, multi-level “transnational systems of justice.” A transnational system of justice is comprised of three components: a charter of rights, a court tasked with enforcing the charter, and the right of individuals to petition the court with a claim that their rights have been violated. The book analyzes the case law on diverse topics, covering both absolute rights (the right to life and prohibitions of torture and slavery) and selected qualified rights (self-determination, abortion and privacy, family law, and indigenous rights to property). Third, the book examines how state officials respond to the development of systems of transnational justice (STJs), in particular, the extent to which the prospect of more effective rights protection is embraced by state officials. In each of the cases, the activities of the STJ have generated significant political “backlash,” leading some states to seek to curb the court’s authority or to exit the regime. The book describes and evaluates these attempts, the results of which have been mixed, with most court-curbing exercises failing.

Sida Liu et al on Crisis as opportunity: legal career paths at two historical turning points in Hong Kong (LSR)

"Crisis as opportunity: legal career paths at two historical turning points in Hong Kong"
Sida Liu, Anson Au, and Pamela P. Tsui
Law & Society Review, Volume 58, Issue 3, pp. 481 - 504
Published online: October 2024

Abstract: This article investigates the career trajectories of Hong Kong solicitors during two historical turning points, specifically 1994–1997 and 2018–2021, when hundreds of lawyers left private practice to pursue alternative career options such as business and finance, government and politics, or relocation to other countries. Data are sourced from the career mobility records of law firm partners reported in 336 monthly issues of the Hong Kong Lawyer journal between 1994 and 2021, as well as other relevant archival sources. The research examines the underlying forces that led these law firm partners to abandon their high-status positions and pursue alternative career paths during these pivotal moments in Hong Kong’s history. The findings suggest that the career trajectories of these elite professionals are not solely based on individual choices but are also shaped by their social origins and the physical and social spaces that influence their careers over time. This study contributes original insights into the complex interplay between individual, spatial and temporal factors that drive career mobility among legal professionals.

Douglas Arner et al on Monetary Hegemony: Technological Evolution and the International Monetary System (ILJ)

"Monetary Hegemony: Technological Evolution and the International Monetary System"
Douglas W. Arner, Ross P. Buckley, Dirk A. Zetzsche, and Anton N. Didenko
Boston University International Law Journal, ILJ 42.2 — Summer 2024
Published online: October 2024

Abstract: In this article, we analyze the evolution of the international monetary system. Today’s system is built around the US dollar as the core international monetary instrument, supported by a range of international institutions (in particular the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements) and domestic and cross-border payment systems, some public, some private, some mixed. The foundation of this system are major central banks, in particular the US Federal Reserve, responsible for US dollar issuance, and with a twin mandate for both monetary stability and economic growth along with financial stability, all backed by a range of regulatory mandates focusing on payments infrastructure and finance. This system, established after World War II as the Bretton Woods international monetary system, has evolved from one based fundamentally on gold and physical payment and financial arrangements, to one—particularly following the end of the Bretton Woods system of currencies fixed to the US dollar and the evolution of a floating exchange rate system from the early 1970s—based on digital systems, with the approximately $7.5 trillion of foreign exchange transactions each day almost entirely digital. This system however has been subject to criticism almost since its inception, with continual calls to reduce the international monetary hegemony of the US dollar. Over the past fifteen years, since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis weakened confidence in the US-led international monetary and financial order, criticisms and calls for reform have become increasingly common globally. In this Article, we highlight two aspects of international monetary evolution which have been under-addressed: the role of technology and the role of law. Following a discussion of the evolution of the international monetary system focusing in particular on the interaction of monetary hegemony, technological evolution and the role of legal arrangements (public, private, domestic, international), we turn to our central thesis: a technological revolution in monetary and payments systems is introducing alternatives and competitors to the existing international monetary regime based on the US dollar and offers the opportunity to build an improved international system, a system which, for the first time, may not be based on a single dominant monetary instrument. We bring these various elements together to consider a range of scenarios for the future of the international monetary system, highlighting in particular new initiatives from the IMF and BIS which could serve as the basis of new international multicurrency payment arrangements. We analyze the new technologies which could underpin such a new system and the possible role of a Digital Dollar. We conclude that the geopolitics of a multipolar world coupled to the evolution of enabling technologies may well result in a small number of major economy central bank digital currencies and currency areas, eliminating the historical pattern of monetary hegemony. There is a clear need to redesign systems to support international monetary and payment arrangements as a public good, and we explore how this might be achieved.

Tipping the Scales for Public Health (Eric Ip Profiled in HKU Bulletin)

"Tipping the Scales for Public Health"
Eric Ip
HKU Bulletin
Published in November 2024

Pandemics, vaccination programmes and other public health measures cannot succeed without good legal regimes. Professor Eric Ip Chi-yeung presents the case.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government announced that it was “following the science” in implementing severe interventions. The approach sounded reasonable, but soon revealed serious limitations, particularly in regard to people’s freedoms and mental health. Similarly, in Hong Kong, stringent interventions, such as mandatory masking and quarantine, were initially appropriate, but over time, with vaccinations and community immunity, they seemed unduly restrictive.

Professor of Law and public health bioethicist Eric Ip Chi-yeung, who is Co-Director of the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, argues that policymakers tend to forget that the rule of law is as important to public health as science, in his new book The Law and Regulation of Public Health: Global Perspectives on Hong Kong.

“My book has two general messages. The first is that all the incredible achievements in public health during the 20th century were made possible by law, whether it be criminal law to punish those who do not wear seatbelts or administrative law to empower certain public authorities to enforce sanitation policies, administer immunisation programmes, and so forth,” he said.

“The second message is that while we need the guidance of scientists in making public health decisions, to rely exclusively on them would be woefully inadequate. Science can’t answer the crucial questions that governments face such as the trade-offs in the social relationships between the individual, the population and the state. During a lockdown, an appropriate balance must be struck between respiratory health and other dimensions of human flourishing, such as familial love, friendship, mental well-being, and economic stability.”

The Hong Kong case

His book outlines why and how the rule of law should be given its due place in protecting mental and physical health. Professor Ip chose Hong Kong as a case study because...

Click here to read the full text.

Weixia Gu comments on Hong Kong's rising significance for international arbitration in China

"As Chinese firms expand overseas, legal spotlight turns on cross-border disputes"
Alyssa Chen
South China Morning Post
6 October 2024

Chinese enterprises setting up overseas are navigating a minefield of legal challenges, making effective dispute resolution through arbitration more crucial than ever...

International arbitration is a preferred method for resolving cross-border commercial disputes outside traditional court systems and involves parties from different jurisdictions submitting their conflicts to a neutral arbitration centre...

Experts cautioned that Chinese companies face significant hurdles in international arbitration because of limited understanding, language barriers, the selection of arbitration venues and differences in legal systems – obstacles that require additional support and guidance from the Chinese government...

Chinese firms might find themselves at a disadvantage because of differences between the civil law system they are accustomed to in China and the common law systems prevalent in many Western countries, particularly regarding the handling of document requests and evidence procedures...

In the realm of international arbitration, Hong Kong was increasingly proving to be an indispensable bridge between Chinese legal practices and global standards, leveraging its unique position under the “one country, two systems” principle, Weixia Gu said.

Hong Kong’s legal system presented multiple strengths in international arbitration, such as the robustness of its common law, a deep-seated legal culture, abundant bilingual legal talent and the judicial reasoning embedded in its case law system, according to Gu.

“The city – the only place in China practising common law – brings a wealth of case law and a distinctive legal thinking that provides significant learning opportunities for arbitration institutions in mainland China,” Gu said...

Click here to read the full text.

Weixia Gu on China’s Modernization of International Commercial Arbitration and Transnational Legal Order (JITCL)

"China’s Modernization of International Commercial Arbitration and Transnational Legal Order"

Weixia Gu

The UC Irvine Journal of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2024

Published online: October 2024

Abstract: China’s interaction with international commercial arbitration (ICA) norms reveals a trajectory from initial resistance to gradual alignment and potential emergence as a rule contributor. This early resistance manifested in its unique dual-track arbitration mechanism and institutional arbitration monopoly. Reforms signal a shift towards global standards, driven by pro-arbitration judicial efforts and institutional competition in China’s vibrant arbitration market. As China’s global influence expands, it is innovating to shape the ICA landscape through initiatives like the China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre, the China International Commercial Court’s one-stop dispute resolution platform, and the International Commercial Dispute Prevention and Settlement Organization. The role of transnational legal elites in China further facilitates this evolution.

Sida Liu et al on China’s Pragmatic Approach to International Human Rights Law (JITCL)

"China’s Pragmatic Approach to International Human Rights Law"
Sida Liu,Yun Xian, Sitao Li
The UC Irvine Journal of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2024
Published online: October 2024

Abstract: China has adopted a pragmatic approach to international human rights law in the early 21st century, characterized by pragmatic experimentation in the appropriation and modification of human rights norms, selective decoupling of international and domestic human rights rules, and divergent enforcement in the legislative and practical responses to various human rights issue areas. This approach permits significant gaps between “law on the books” and “law in action,” as well as between domestic rules and international law. Analysis of China’s engagement with the ICCPR and CEDAW, respectively focused on criminal procedural rights and women’s rights, reveals the complex and uneven nature of China’s human rights governance. While China has gradually reduced overt violations of human rights within criminal procedures, it has concurrently developed a more opaque and institutionalized punitive system. In comparison, despite recent legislative advances, limited practical enforcement and increased state control on feminist activists characterize women’s rights protections in China. Understanding China’s pragmatic approach is crucial for effectively addressing human rights concerns within the country.

Welcome the new Global Academic Fellow Dr Suhong Yang!

Welcome to Dr Suhong Yang who joined the Faculty of Law as a Global Academic Fellow. Dr. Suhong Yang is an international lawyer interested in criminal law, human rights, and environmental law issues. Her S.J.D. dissertation investigates the legitimacy of international and hybrid criminal tribunals that try atrocity crimes in post-conflict situations. Suhong was awarded as a David D. Caron Fellow and a Salzburg Cutler Fellow for her research. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Chinese Journal of International Law, Denver Journal of International Law & Policy, European Papers, George Mason International Law Journal, International Legal Materials, and Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting.

At the HKU Faculty of Law, Suhong is engaged in teaching activities and assisting the Director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law in research-related activities. Prior to joining the HKU, Suhong was a Judicial Fellow at the International Court of Justice, working with Judge H.E. XUE Hanqin. She also served the Office of the President of the U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and the Legal Policy Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Suhong holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Renmin University of China, and LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees from Georgetown University Law Center. In addition to the academic degrees, she also studied at the University of Oxford, Kathmandu School of Law, and Cheng-Chi University (Taiwan) in different capacities. Suhong has facilitated teaching or been invited to give guest lectures on tort law, international law, US law, and Chinese law at Georgetown University, Leiden University, and Renmin University.

Suhong is currently Vice-Chair of the International Criminal Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), and Secretary of ASIL Women in International Law Interest Group. She served as Co-Chair of ASIL New Professionals Interest Group from 2019 to 2023.

Welcome the new Global Academic Fellow Dr Alex Zhicheng Huang!

Welcome to Dr Alex Zhicheng Huang who joined the Faculty of Law as a Global Academic Fellow. Dr Alex Huang’s research focuses on bankruptcy law, corporate law, judicial behavior, and the application of economics and data science to legal questions. His current projects involve the use of network analysis and natural language processing to examine a large number of judicial opinions related to Chapter 11 reorganization. He explores computational doctrinal analysis to examines the content of law—legal reasoning and justification—in an empirical way. Computational doctrinal analysis sets itself apart from both the outcome-oriented empirical legal studies and the case study-driven doctrinal analysis. Additionally, he is interested in the role of courts, judicial performance evaluation, and public trust in the judiciary, particularly the impacts of new technologies like artificial intelligence on these fields.

His writings have appeared in the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal and Research of Institutional Economics, and he has contributed chapters to several books. His research has been featured in several media outlets and academic blogs including the Financial Times, The Deal, Reorg, Oxford Business Law Blog, and Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable. He has received several research awards, including the Best Paper Award at the Annual Law and Economics Conference in China and the Most Innovative Presentation Award at the INSOL ERA Annual Workshop.

Dr Alex Huang holds a JSD and LLM from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was named to the Dean’s List. He was also a Lloyd M. Robbins Fellow at the Berkeley School of Law and a Berkeley Empirical Legal Studies Fellow at the Berkeley Center for the Study of Law and Society. He earned his Bachelor of Laws from Sun Yat-sen University, where he received the China National Scholarship.

Before teaching Cross-border Insolvency Law at HKU Law, he taught Law and Economics I & II, Sociology of Law, Law in Chinese Society, and Fundamentals of U.S. Law as a lecturer and graduate student instructor in the legal studies program and the law school at UC Berkeley.

Huang is also a Research Associate at the Sun Yat-sen University Law and Economics Research Center, where he serves as a co-investigator for a key project funded by the National Social Science Fund of China.

Welcome the new Global Academic Fellow Dr Pangyue Cheng!

Welcome to Dr Pangyue Cheng who joined the Faculty of Law as a Global Academic Fellow. Dr. Pangyue Cheng is a legal scholar focusing on corporate law, financial regulation, and AI governance. Her research interests encompass institutional stewardship, corporate governance, sustainability, and AI regulation. Pangyue’s work explores the legal challenges companies face in a rapidly changing global environment, particularly how shifts in investor roles, technological advancements, and increasing sustainability demands shape corporate governance and regulatory practices. Her research has been published in international law reviews and peer-reviewed journals such as the Columbia Business Law Review and the European Business Law Review.

Currently, Pangyue’s research focuses on the intersection of corporate governance, sustainability, and technological innovation. She examines how institutional investors foster corporate responsibility and long-term value creation through ESG integration. Additionally, her research on AI governance addresses the opportunities and legal challenges that emerging technologies pose to corporate systems and governance frameworks.

Pangyue holds a Bachelor of Laws from Beijing Normal University, an LLM in Corporate and Financial Services Law, and a PhD from the National University of Singapore, where she researched institutional stewardship in Chinese listed companies. Her work on ESG integration and corporate sustainability was fully funded by the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University. She has been invited to share her research at esteemed institutions, including Yale University, Harvard University, the University of Michigan, the Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law, the Society of Legal Scholars, and the American Society of Comparative Law.

Pangyue currently teaches China Company Law and Securities Regulation at the HKU Faculty of Law. She was a Fox International Fellow at Yale University and worked as a researcher on several projects at the National University of Singapore Law School. Before entering academia, she practiced law in mainland China and served as legal counsel for a listed AI company.

Congratulations to Xin He, Mok Sau-King Professorship in Law

Congratulations to Professor Xin He who has been appointed to the Mok Sau-King Professorship in Law at the University of Hong Kong.

Professor He is a leading authority and an eminent scholar on comparative Chinese law. He writes principally on the role of courts and the judicial process in Chinese society. He is an award-winning author and undoubtedly one of the most prolific and widely-published Chinese law scholar in the English world. His record of publication is exceptional, in terms of both volume, as measured by annual output, and quality, as judged by the ranking of journals and the reputation of publishers.