Eric Ip on The Virtuous Epidemiologist (Journal of Public Health)

"The virtuous epidemiologist"
Eric Ip

Journal of Public Health

Published online: 5 November 2018

Abstract: This article addresses the scholarly gap in the ethics of epidemiology by exploring what virtue ethics, one of the oldest ethical traditions in moral philosophy, has to say about ‘the virtuous epidemiologist’. It expounds comparatively the content and merits of a virtue ethics approach against more popular contemporary schools of thought such as consequentialism and deontology. Without necessarily dismissing the value of principles and standards, it presents a vision that a virtuous epidemiologist should cultivate wisdom in making prudential judgments in conditions of uncertainty; fortitude in dealing with powerful politicians and administrators which does not sacrifice truth; temperance and self-restraint in keeping one’s ideological views from compromising one’s scientific credibility; and justice in giving due weight to individual rights and the public interest when doing research and giving advice on public health interventions.  Click here to read the full article.

HKU Law Welcomes Biomedical Legal Scholar, Dr Calvin Ho

Welcome to Dr Calvin Ho who joins the Department of Law as Associate Professor, working closely with HKU's Centre for Medical Ethics and Law (CMEL).  Dr Ho will contribute to the Faculty of Law's interdisciplinary research with his expertise in Biomedical Law & Ethics, Regulatory Governance, Artificial Intelligence & Data Science and Comparative Law.  He will also teach the course entitled 'The Regulation of Biomedical Research' (LLW6250).

    Dr Ho holds a doctorate in juridical science from Cornell University, and was also trained in law at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the University of Cambridge. In addition, he read sociology and economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). Dr Ho is qualified as Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and as Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. He has practiced law in London and Singapore with Messrs Linklaters Allen & Gledhill, and has served as a medicolegal expert advisor to the Medical Protection Society (MPS). Dr Ho is currently an Ethics Board member of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Co-Head of the Accountability Policy Task Team of the Global Alliance for Genomics & Health; and a research affiliate with the Ethox Centre, University of Oxford. 

     Prior to joining HKU, Dr Ho was Assistant Professor at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS; Co-Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Bioethics in Singapore; and Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bioethics Review. Additionally, he has served as a statutory board member of the Singapore Nursing Board, the Legal Aid Bureau of the Ministry of Law of Singapore, as well as on national advisory committees on transplantation and on genetic testing of the Ministry of Health of Singapore.

     Dr Ho's research focuses on the explication of the normative (i.e. legal and ethical) and social implications of health and biotechnologies, as well as the responses to these concerns through policy and regulatory governance. His research also includes medical law and ethics, and the normative aspects of health systems (especially on health insurance and access to health) and global health.

Calvin Ho et al on Ethical Governance Policies on Sharing of Biological Materials for Biomedical Research (Wellcome Open Research)

"Diffusion of ethical governance policy on sharing of biological materials and related data for biomedical research"

Manjulika Vaz1, Ana G. Palmero, Wongani Nyangulu, Alpha A. Diallo, Calvin W. L. Ho 

Wellcome Open Research online
First published: 12 Nov 2019

Abstract: This paper considers how ethical norms on sharing of human biological materials and related data in international policy documents diffuse from global forums to national policies and practices. With focus on the domestic policies of four countries (i.e. Guinea, Argentina, India and Malawi), this paper seeks to explain policy diffusion by broadly applying an analytical framework wherein policy learning is one of four theories used to explain how countries learn policy norms from expert epistemic communities and international organizations. While the governance structures of all four countries broadly incorporate key ethical provisions in international policy documents on sharing of biological materials and related data for biomedical research, relative emphasis on certain provisions differ among them. In three of these countries (i.e. Guinea, Argentina and India), international ethical norms have had direct influence over their domestic governance policies. Their impact has been greatest for Guinea and Argentina, whose governance policies had to be adapted in response to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa and the Zika virus epidemic in Latin America. In both countries, sharing of biological materials and related data with international organisations increased significantly to meet therapeutic and research needs during the outbreaks. International organisations have had a comparatively greater role in bringing about policy change in Guinea when compared with Argentina, mainly due to the fragility of the health system in Guinea in 2014. In contrast, policy in India and in Malawi occurred under less strenuous conditions. This may account for the relatively greater emphasis on control and limits to cross-border transferability in their policies when compared with those of Guinea and Argentina. While all four countries have made significant progress in establishing accountable governance arrangements, still more needs to be done to ensure that the ethical goal of equitable sharing of benefits is realised.

HKU Law Global Academic Fellows 2020-2021 (Deadline: 1 February 2020)

Applications are invited for appointments as Global Academic Fellow (3 posts) in the Department of Law (Ref.: 499292), to commence in August 2020 or January 2021, for a period of two years.

     The Global Academic Fellows Programme was created to provide outstanding and aspiring legal academics with time and resources to transition into the global teaching market. Fellows will have access to an internationally leading faculty for mentorship and affiliation with related research centers alongside support for attending academic conferences to present their work. Other opportunities will include the option of co-teaching courses and organizing funded academic conferences. Applicants should have completed their doctoral degrees before the start of their appointments, unless they possess significant practice experience. The successful candidate will be appointed at the grade of Post-doctoral Fellow.

     One to three fellows will be appointed each year, and will be expected to be in residence at HKU and devote their time primarily to their own research and preparation for entering the international teaching market in the second year of their fellowship. Fellows will be provided shared office space and administrative support when needed. Information about the Department of Law and the Faculty of Law can be found at: www.law.hku.hk.

     Successful candidates will be nominated for HKU’s Presidential Post-doctoral Fellowship and Hong Kong’s RGC Post-doctoral fellowship Scheme. Each of these nominations potentially represents additional salary, research funds and the optional extension of the fellowship for a third year. Two of three inaugural fellows have already secured tenure-track appointments within their first year of appointment. Specific questions can be addressed to the Director at: jkroncke@hku.hk.

     A highly competitive package including a monthly salary, housing allowance, relocation allowance, medical benefits, annual leave, and conference and research support will be offered to successful applicant as applicable. At current rates, salaries tax does not exceed 15% of gross income.

     The University only accepts online application for the above post. Applicants should apply online and upload 1) an up-to-date C.V., 2) a 3-page research agenda (including past, current and future projects), 3) a list of at least three academic references, and 4) a writing sample (under 50 pages). Closes February 1, 2020 (extend to February 14, 2020). Click here to submit your online application.

Syren Johnstone and Frederick Long on Alibaba, HKEX & ESG: Missed Leadership Opportunities (Int'l Fin L Rev)

"Alibaba, HKEX & ESG: Missed leadership opportunities"

Syren Johnstone and Frederick Long

International Financial Law Review

5 December 2019, Winter 2019/2020

Introduction: To meet rising investor expectations, Alibaba and HKEX must both provide roadmaps to deeper engagement with environmental, social and governance issues. Alibaba Group's secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on November 26 2019, raising over US$11 billion (around 2.3% of Alibaba's market cap), represents the most significant offering on the bourse this decade. It opens up an important pathway for Chinese issuers listed in New York and London who may now be looking to Hong Kong SAR as a venue for tapping into pools of Chinese capital. However, the high-profile listing also raises important questions related to environmental. social and governance (ESG) concerns... 

New Book: Wilkinson's Professional Conduct of Lawyers in Hong Kong – Desk Edition 2019 (Gary Meggitt)

Wilkinson's Professional Conduct of Lawyers in Hong Kong

Gary Meggitt

LexisNexis

Published in November 2019

Description: Wilkinson's Professional Conduct of Lawyers in Hong Kong continues to incorporate the best of its previous editions, enhanced by recent developments introduced by legislation, numerous Law Society Circulars (and some Bar Circulars), Law Society and Judiciary Practice Directions, numerous cases from many relevant jurisdictions, and, most significantly, a new Bar Code (as of 20 July 2017). This new edition contains much new material, the most significant developments include annotations on the aforementioned new Bar Code, commentary on legal professional privilege, conflict of interest and money laundering. This title will prove indispensable to law students and Overseas Lawyers Qualification Examination candidates.

INTRODUCTION TO THE 2019 DESK EDITION: This is the fifth edition of The Professional Conduct of Lawyers in Hong Kong. The first and second editions were written by Michael Wilkinson and Michael Sandor; the third by Michael Sandor alone; and the fourth, which appeared last year, was written by Michael Wilkinson and myself. I undertook to prepare this edition.  As many readers will be aware, Michael Wilkinson passed away in February 2019. We have lost a superlative lawyer and scholar and, perhaps more importantly, a good and decent man. His wit and wisdom will be sorely missed by family, friends, colleagues, students and the wider community. In tribute to his contribution to the law and the legal profession in Hong Kong, this publication has been renamed Wilkinson’s Professional Conduct of Lawyers in Hong Kong.  The law is stated as at 1 June 2019.

HKU Law's SSRN Legal Studies Research Paper Series (May - Dec 2019)

UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES

Vol. 9, No. 7: December 10, 2019

DOUGLAS W. ARNER, EDITOR

SIMON N. M. YOUNG, EDITOR

Table of Contents

Building Fin Tech Ecosystems:Regulatory Sandboxes, Innovation Hubs and Beyond

Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Robin Veidt, University of Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance

Dirk A. Zetzsche, Universite du Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf - Center for Business & Corporate Law (CBC)

UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration: A Commentary

Ilias Bantekas, Brunel University London - Brunel Law School

Pietro Ortolani, Radboud University

Shahla F. Ali, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Manuel A. Gomez, Florida International University College of Law

Michael Polkinghorne, White & Case LLP

Maintaining Institutional Strength: The Court, the Act of State and the Rule of Law

Johannes M M Chan, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

An Agent-Based Model of Judicial Power

Alex Schwartz, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

The U.S.-China Trade Negotiation: A Contract Theory Perspective

Angela Huyue Zhang, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Constitutional Finance: The Roleof the Hong Kong Basic Law During the Global Financial Crisis

Eric C. Ip, The University of Hong Kong

Transnational Law and GlobalDispute Resolution

Shahla F. Ali, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

A Perfect Storm: Hong Kong -Mainland China Rendition of Fugitive Offenders 2019

Albert H. Y. Chen, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES

Vol. 9, No. 6: Oct 31, 2019

DOUGLAS W. ARNER, EDITOR

SIMON N. M. YOUNG, EDITOR

Table of Contents

Expropriation in the Name of Rights: Transferable Development Rights (TDRs), the Bundle of Sticks and Chinese Politics

Shitong Qiao, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Non-Positivist Legal Pluralismand Crises of Legitimacy in Settler-States

Alex Green, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong

Jennifer Hendry, School of Law, University of Leeds

Successful Secession and theValue of International Recognition
Alex Green, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong

Remedial Discretion and Dilemmasin Asia
Po Jen Yap, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES

Vol. 9, No. 5: Oct 17, 2019

DOUGLAS W. ARNER, EDITOR

SIMON N. M. YOUNG, EDITOR

Table of Contents

Constitutional Implementation for Sustainable Peace

Anna Dziedzic, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne - Melbourne Law School

Cheryl Saunders, University of Melbourne - Law School

Individual Income Taxation Reform in China: What Is the Real Change?

Jingyi Wang, Peking University - Peking University School of Transnational Law

Wilson Chow, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Ten Days that Shocked the World: The Rendition Proposal in Hong Kong

Johannes M M Chan, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Twenty Years of the Basic Law: Continuity and Changes in the Geoffrey Ma Court

Po Jen Yap, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES

Vol. 9, No. 4: September 19, 2019

DOUGLAS W. ARNER, EDITOR

SIMON N. M. YOUNG, EDITOR

Table of Contents

Requisites for Development of a Regulated Secondary Market in Digital Assets

Syren Johnstone, Department of Law, University of Hong Kong, Asian Institute of International Financial Law

Sustainability, FinTech and Financial Inclusion

Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Dirk A. Zetzsche, Universite du Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf - Center for Business & Corporate Law (CBC)

Blockchain and Public Companies:A Revolution in Share Ownership Transparency, Proxy-Voting and Corporate Governance?

Federico Panisi, University of Brescia

Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Distributed Ledger Technology and Digital Assets - Policy and Regulatory Challenges in Asia

Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Anton Didenko, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Cyn-Young Park, Asian Development Bank

Emilija Pashoska, Universite du Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance

Dirk A. Zetzsche, Universite du Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf - Center for Business & Corporate Law (CBC)

Bo Zhao, University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Business and Economics, Asian Development Bank - Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD)

Three Major Financial Crises: What Have We Learned

Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Emilios Avgouleas, University of Edinburgh - School of Law

Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Regulating LIBRA: The Transformative Potential of Facebook’s Cryptocurrency and Possible Regulatory Responses

Dirk A. Zetzsche, Universite du Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf - Center for Business & Corporate Law (CBC)

Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES

Vol. 9, No. 3: June 11, 2019

DOUGLAS W. ARNER, EDITOR

SIMON N. M. YOUNG, EDITOR

Table of Contents

Beijing’s 'Rule of Law' Strategy for Governing Hong Kong: Legalization without Democratization

Han Zhu, Centre for Chinese Law, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law

Optimal Deterrence, the Illegality Defence, and Corporate Attribution

Kelvin Hiu Fai Kwok, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Ernest Lim, National University of Singapore (NUS) - Faculty of Law

The Oath-Taking Cases and the NPCSC Interpretation of 2016: Interface of Common Law and Chinese Law

Han Zhu, Centre for Chinese Law, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law 

Albert H. Y. Chen, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

The Concept of 'Agreement' Under Article 101 TFEU: A Question of EU Treaty Interpretation

Kelvin Hiu Fai Kwok, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

The Identity Challenge in Finance: From Analogue Identity to Digitized Identification to Digital KYC Utilities

Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Dirk A. Zetzsche, Universite du Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf - Center for Business & Corporate Law (CBC)

Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law

Janos Nathan Barberis, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF LAW LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES

Vol. 9, No. 2: May 10, 2019

DOUGLAS W. ARNER, EDITOR

SIMON N. M. YOUNG, EDITOR

Table of Contents

The Future of Data-Driven Finance and RegTech: Lessons from EU Big Bang IIDirk A. Zetzsche, Universite du Luxembourg - Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf - Center for Business & Corporate Law (CBC)
Douglas W. Arner, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law
Ross P. Buckley, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law
Rolf H. Weber, University of Zurich - Faculty of Law

A Network Theory of PatentabilityLaura G. Pedraza-Farina, Northwestern University School of Law
Ryan Whalen, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

The Age of Remix and Copyright Law ReformYahong Li, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Re-Conceptualizing ‘Object’ Analysis Under Article 101 TFEU: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives
Kelvin Hiu Fai Kwok, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

What are Law Courses for? Striking a Balance between Professional and Liberal Education GoalsDanny Gittings, University of Hong Kong, College of Humanities and Law, School of Professional and Continuing Education, The University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law

From Global to Anthropocenic Assemblages: Re-Thinking Territory, Authority and Rights in the New Climatic RegimeDaniel Matthews, The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Roda Mushkat on Economics and International Law: Closer Alignment through Greater Analytical Diversity? (Chinese (Taiwan) Ybk Int'l L & Aff)

"Economics and International Law: Closer Alignment through Greater Analytical Diversity?"

Roda Mushkat

Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs, 2018 Issue 36,  pp. 1-55 

Abstract: The scope of International legal inquiry has expanded considerably in recent years, in terms of the analytical perspectives brought to bear on the issues addressed, rather than merely their nature and intricacy. Traditional-style approaches continue to feature prominently in the cognitive toolkit relied upon to frame and dissect problems, but no longer exclusively and in an unadulterated form. Novel conceptual insights have been incorporated from the social sciences, injecting a multidisciplinary, and even interdisciplinary, element into the system. Economics has increasingly come to the fore in this context, both directly and indirectly, initially in relation to State compliance with international law and latterly on a wider basis. The narrowly focused, neoclassical paradigm featuring an assiduous, omniscient, and self-centered agent—homo economicus—has given way to more nuanced and multifaceted schemes but, as demonstrated in this article, the process of shrinking gaps in the explanatory façade and weaving together the disparate interpretative threads may have considerably further to go. The evolution of economically inspired international legal theory is traced here with a view to showing how post-neoclassical contributions, supported with empirical illustrations based on Eastern realities, persistently overlooked in the Western-dominated academic literature, might fruitfully enrich this body of knowledge and align it more tightly with behavioral patterns observed across different geographies throughout modern history.

Isabella Seif & Kelley Loper on How the UN Compact on Refugees Can Address the Rohingya Crisis (Asia Global Online)

"How the UN Compact on Refugees Can Address the Rohingya Crisis"
Isabella Seif & Kelley Loper 
Asia Global Online

28 November 2019

One year since the United Nations adopted the Global Compact on Refugees, Isabella Seif and Kelley Loper of The University of Hong Kong examine the impact of the non-binding framework and how it might be applied to address the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

    The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in December 2018. These resolutions are milestones that signal the international community’s embrace of a more comprehensive response to the dramatic increase of forced migrants over the past several years. While neither instrument is legally binding, they contain important political commitments that states around the world, including governments in Asia, have accepted. They affirm the global nature of the problem and the need to devise collaborative, longer-term, practical solutions. The Refugee Compact in particular emphasizes international cooperation and responsibility sharing “to better protect and assist refugees and support host countries and communities”... Click here to read the full text. 

Frank He & Yang Su on Flexibility and Authority: Resolving Labor Disputes in a County Government in Western China (Law & Soc Rev)

"Flexibility and Authority: Resolving Labor Disputes in A County Government in Western China"

Xin He & Yang Su

Law & Society Review 
First published: 22 November 2019

Abstract: Existing literature regards flexibility and authority as key characteristics of informal justice. We further contend that the combination of the two is crucial for informal justice to be effective. We investigate the process of dispute resolution by a Chinese labor agency. Following the life cycles of a sample of 810 labor disputes, we find that this informal justice forum was efficient and effective, made possible by the combination of flexibility and authority. Flexibility means that the agency attracts certain types of cases that are usually screened out of the formal legal system and that agency officials use “informal,” hence flexible, techniques. Authority means that the administrative agency possesses additional powers over the disputants; hence, the disputants are under pressure to follow its suggestions and decisions. A comparative analysis of various cases of informal justice reinforces the importance of combining flexibility and authority. We further demonstrate that flexibility without authority is insufficient and that some informal justice forums are effective because they enjoy both.

Daisy Cheung and others on the Future Direction of Law Reform for Compulsory Mental Health Admission and Treatment in Hong Kong (Int'l J L & Psychiatry)

"Articulating future directions of law reform for compulsory mental health

admission and treatment in Hong Kong"

Daisy Cheung, Michael Dunnb, Elizabeth Fisteinc, Peter Bartlettd, John McMillane, Carole J. Petersen

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry

Published in November 2019 online
Introduction: This article builds on the work of an international conference on the topic of compulsory mental health admission and treatment in Hong Kong (the ‘Conference’) and explores the pathways for reform in this area. A number of jurisdictions around the world are currently re-viewing their mental health laws, in part because of the requirements of international treaties that seek to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The challenge in the review and reform process is aligning local mental health needs, frameworks and traditions with overarching commitments to treat people with mental illness in ways that safeguard their control over their own treatment, reduce coercive interventions, and protect against arbitrary deprivations of liberty. In outlining four possible pathways for potential law reform in Hong Kong, we intend to also provide a blueprint for regulatory change in other jurisdictions that seek to draw a balance between local needs and international norms. The comparative value of this piece lies not in its direct applicability to other jurisdictions, but in its demonstration of how an exercise like this might be undertaken, and the kinds of considerations that should be taken into account when addressing relevant features of each of the four pathways in alternative local contexts.

     Our article proceeds as follows. Part II presents a brief overview of the mental health system and legal framework in Hong Kong. Part III considers Hong Kong's international commitments for the protection of human rights, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’) (which is incorporated into Hong Kong's do-mestic legal system) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’), which has applied to Hong Kong since 2008. Part IV summarises the key local challenges that Hong Kong faces in any attempt at reform. We then set forth, in Part V, four dif-ferent strategies for reforming mental health law in Hong Kong: (i) theabolition pathway, (ii) the risk of harm pathway, (iii) the mental ca-pacity pathways, and (iv) the consensus pathway. Part VI provides abrief conclusion for the article... Click here to read the full article.

New Book: Criminal Law in Sri Lanka (Michael Hor and others) (LexisNexis)

Criminal Law in Sri Lanka

Wing-Cheong Chan, Michael Hor, Neil Morgan, Jeeva Niriella and Stanley Yeo

LexisNexis

Published in November 2019

Description: This book describes and evaluates the general principles of criminal responsibility and the major offences against the person and property contained in the Sri Lankan Penal Code. The aims are to assist in the application of the law and to provide suggestions for reform. To achieve these aims, it examines cases from other Penal Code jurisdictions as well as from Sri Lanka. There has not been a comprehensive study of the Sri Lankan Penal Code since Professor GL Peiris’ books were published nearly 40 years ago (General Principles of Criminal Liability in Ceylon: A Comparative Analysis (1st Edn, 1972; 2nd Edn, 1980) and Offences under the Penal Code of Ceylon (1st Edn, 1973; 2nd Edn, 1982)). Significant legislative and case law developments have occurred since that time. Much of the Penal Code has stood the test of time. However, given its antiquity, this commentary proposes significant reforms. They include the enactment of a ‘General Part’, with precise and comprehensive provisions reflecting contemporary views about criminal responsibility.

   Key Features:

• Comprehensive analysis of the general principles of criminal responsibility in Sri Lanka
• Analysis of the major offences against the person and property in light of the general principles of criminal responsibility
• Review of major relevant cases from Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore
• Placing the law in a historical and theoretical context pointing to its strengths and weaknesses, and suggesting potential reforms to bring the law into the 21st Century

Fu, Gillespie , Nicholson & William Partlett on East Asian Socialism and East Asian Legality: A Response to Ewan Smith (Asian J of Comp L)

"East Asian Socialism and East Asian Legality: A Response to Ewan Smith"
Hualing Fu, John Gillespie, Pip Nicholson and William Partlett

Asian Journal of Comparative Law 

Published online on 19 November 2019

Introduction: Ewan Smith has written a thoughtful and nuanced review of Socialist Law in Socialist East Asia that effectively highlights the main difficulties in researching and analyzing socialist law in East Asia. He has a keen understanding of socialist law and supports the objective of the book, which is to place 'socialism back in the foreground of our analysis of law in East Asia'. He discusses the problems the authors faced in disentangling socialist law from socialist state institutions. In addition, he reflects on what `socialist' law might resemble if it were disaggregated from Marxist-Leninist thought. Smith also points out that law is not socialist just because self-declared socialist states say it is socialist. Or as he eloquently puts it: 'The party's account of socialist law is a treacherous guide to its true nature and true objectives'... Click here to read the article.

Alistair Fraser & Daniel Matthews, Towards a Criminology of Atmospheres: Law, Affect and the Codes of the Street (Criminology & Criminal Justice)

"Towards a criminology of atmospheres: Law, affect and the codes of the street"
Alistair Fraser & Daniel Matthews

Criminology & Criminal Justice

First Published on September 11, 2019

Abstract: The street has a long and distinguished pedigree in criminology as a site of human sociability, transgression and spontaneity. Recent scholarship in legal studies has, however, explored the role that non-human actors play in the normative ordering of urban life. These interventions suggest the need for criminologists of the street to take seriously not only the experiential foreground of crime but also its background. In this article, we seek to bring these traditions into dialogue through engagement with the concept of ‘atmosphere’ – a place-based mood or spatialised feeling that blends human and non-human elements, and has the capacity to act in a quasi-agentic manner. Drawing on an experiment in ‘atmospheric methods’ conducted during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Umbrella Movement, in which some of the city’s central streets were occupied for 79 days, we seek to demonstrate that the analytics of ‘atmosphere’ offers a unique conceptual approach to urban life and street crime in the contemporary age.

Rebecca Lee on the Adult Guardianship Dilemma in Hong Kong (Trusts & Trustees)

"The adult guardianship dilemma in Hong Kong"

Rebecca Lee

Trusts & Trustees
Published on 12 November 2019

Abstract: Today, there is worldwide consensus that ageing has become an issue of global concern. The frail elderly, together with other vulnerable sections of the community, may turn to adult guardianship, a mechanism for planning for and the protection of individuals with cognitive impairment. There is, however, an inherent tension at the heart of the legal institution of adult guardianship: although it protects individuals with cognitive impairment from potential abuse and exploitation, that protection is often provided by subjecting individuals to the plenary authority of their guardians. Against this backdrop, this article critically examines the struggle with the tension within the adult guardianship regime in Hong Kong and, drawing on reforms in major jurisdictions with long-standing experience of guardianship experimentation, explores the features of a guardianship system that tackles this dilemma.

New Book Celebrating 50th Anniversary of HKU Law (HKU Press)

A Special Standing in the World: The Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong 1969-2019

Christopher Munn

Hong Kong University Press

November 2019, 360 pp.

Description: The history of the Faculty of Law at HKU is in many ways the history of the law in modern Hong Kong. Founded in 1969, the Faculty has helped transform a colonial legal backwater into a flourishing jurisdiction, in which Hong Kong maintains its common law system as a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. The Faculty has played a vital part in fostering a legal profession firmly rooted in Hong Kong, functioning in both Chinese and English. Its early teachers pioneered scholarship on Hong Kong law. Its graduates now make up over half of Hong Kong’s Judiciary and legal profession. Over the years the Faculty has earned worldwide recognition as a centre of research in subjects ranging from human rights to financial regulation.

     Published to mark the Golden Jubilee, this book traces the Faculty’s rise from humble origins to its position as one of the world’s leading law schools. Drawing on archives, publications and interviews, the book explores the growth of the Faculty against the momentous events of the past 50 years. The first two chapters examine the Faculty’s prehistory when, for over a hundred years, most of Hong Kong’s lawyers were trained in England. The remaining six chapters explore alternately the Faculty’s internal history and its role in building Hong Kong’s modern legal system.

About the Author: Christopher Munn is the author of Anglo-China: Chinese People and British Rule in Hong Kong, 1841–1880 (HKUP, 2008) and a co-editor of the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography (HKUP, 2012) and Meeting Place: Encounters across Cultures in Hong Kong, 1841–1984 (HKUP, 2017).

Reviews:

‘Dr Munn traces the Faculty of Law’s fascinating journey over half a century. From a modest beginning, it has developed into one of the finest law schools in the world. The story is told in the context of the historic events and momentous changes of this era. This illuminating and outstanding work deserves to be widely read.’ —The Hon. Andrew Li, First Chief Justice of the HKSAR (1997–2010) 

‘Christopher Munn’s history of the Faculty of Law is more than the history of a remarkable educational institution—it is a history of how the law and legal culture in Hong Kong developed from modest mid-nineteenth-century colonial beginnings to its present pre-eminent position. Clearly composed in lively prose, this book is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand modern Hong Kong and its place in the world today.’ —The Rt Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada (2000–2017)

Amanda Whitfort Speaks at the 11th Asia for Animals Symposium in Dalian, China

"Asia for Animals: China conference focuses on using laws creatively to protect animals"

By Annette Gartland

Changing Times

21 October 2019

The 11th Asia for Animals (AfA) symposium, which has just taken place in Dalian, China, was focused on how laws can be used creatively to protect nonhuman animals. Delegates heard presentations from lawyers, academics, and activists from Asia, the United States, Australia, and Europe. More than four hundred people attended AfA 2019. They ranged from people working on the ground in rescue and rehabilitation organisations to animal advocates, veterinarians, scientists, government officials, scholars, and those working in education. The biennial event was this year co-organised by the Animals for Asia Coalition and the Vshine Animal Protection Association, based in Dalian.

     Speakers from China emphasised that local regulations in the country are very effective, but said that the Wildlife Protection Act was about using animals as resources rather than protection and welfare, and needed further revision. 

    National anti-cruelty legislation is urgently needed, speakers said. China’s wildlife protection legislation was revised in 2016 and now covers hunting, and selling wildlife items on the Internet. There are strong deterrent penalties and a new draft list of protected species, but the law allows commercial trade in protected wildlife and their products. Previous to the new draft, China’s wildlife conservation list had only been updated once since it was released in 1989. In 2003, the authorities upgraded the protection status for musk deer.

     Amanda Whitfort, who teaches Criminal Litigation and Animal Law at the University of Hong Kong’s Law Faculty, told AfA delegates about the use of public interest litigation in China in animal welfare cases. This, Whitfort says, has the capacity to impact very significantly on the way animal abuse is dealt with in China. China’s public interest litigation framework is extremely advanced, Whitfort says, and it is growing and gaining strength.“Since its formal adoption in 2012 Chinese environmental public interest litigation has gone beyond just recognition of individuals’ rights to sue for environmental harms and now it gives procuratorates the power to initiate actions against government officials for abuses of animals when they are combined with criminal prosecutions,” she told delegates... Click here to read the full text.

Human Rights Lawyer Patricia Ho Joins HKU Law's Clinical Legal Education Programme

HKU Faculty of Law warmly welcomes Mrs Patricia Ho who joins as a Principal Lecturer in the Clinical Legal Education Programme. Patricia is a public law practitioner who has been involved in many judicial review and personal injuries cases involving human trafficking and refugee matters, migrant worker rights, transgender rights, disability rights and child and family rights. She is the managing and founding partner of Patricia Ho & Associates and founder of the non-profit Hong Kong Dignity Institute. 

    Patricia is a co-author and presenter of the Crimes (Amendment) (Modern Slavery) Bill 2019 which has been introduced into Hong Kong Legislative Council in the same year. She regularly provides trainings and seminars to the NGO and legal community in Hong Kong on avenues to protect victims of human trafficking and forced labour. In 2018, she was a co-organiser and panelist at the International Conference on Combatting Human Trafficking. She is an advocate for a trauma-informed approach to client management. She was trained in Post Trauma Psychosocial and Mental Health Interventions for the Refugee Population, and in 2015, was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Symposium on Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Conflict-Induced Displaced Persons in Hong Kong. Patricia’s pro bono work has been recognized by the Law Society of Hong Kong through being awarded with the Pro Bono and Community Work Recognition Gold Award for six consecutive years as well as the Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award in 2017 and 2018.

Fu Hualing on the Power to Detain in a Dual State Structure (Made in China Journal)

"The Power to Detain in a Dual State Structure"
Fu Hualing
Made in China Journal
Vol. 4, Issue 3, Jul–Sept 2019, pp. 70-74

In liberal democracies, detention power tends to converge on three issues: first, differences in social/political status are no longer relevant, and common legal rules apply to all types of detention based on the fundamental right of personal freedom; second, political mechanisms and legal rules are in place to reduce state arbitrariness in depriving citizens of personal freedom; and finally, detention is subject to enhanced juridical control, with access to lawyers and judicial scrutiny serving as the litmus test for its legality. Indeed, the transition from a police-centric legal system to a court-centric one is often regarded as the hallmark of genuine democratisation, and the degree to which personal freedom is protected offers a meaningful index to measure the status of rule of law in a particular society. (Cao et al. 2014).

    After four decades of legal reform in China, what kind of progress has the country made in controlling the power to detain, reducing its arbitrariness, and making the repressive arm of the state legally accountable? Has the fear of police power, in particular the proverbial panic of a knock at the door in the middle of the night, been reduced or increased? A general answer to these questions is that there are changes and continuities, as the power to detain is largely defined and shaped by China’s regime type... Click here to read the full article.

Launch of The Hong Kong Journal of Law and Public Affairs (HKJLPA)

Marking the 20th anniversary of the BSocSc (Govt & Laws) & LLB Programme (GLaws) at HKU, the Hong Kong Journal of Law and Public Affairs (HKJLPA) was launched in 2019 as the annual journal of the Government and Laws Committee (GLC). The theme of the inaugural volume is “Confucian Democracy and Constitutionalism”, which features interesting contributions from experts all over the world exploring the theory and practice of operating Western political institutions such as representative democracy and constitutionalism in the context of Confucian values and norms in East Asian jurisdictions. HKJLPA also features a review of GLC’s initiatives, and the achievements of GLaws students over the past year.

ABOUT THE HKJLPA

The HKJLPA is the first student-edited law and political science journal in all of Asia, established by the Government and Laws Committee, Politics and Public Administration Association SSS HKUSU (GLC) with full support from the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Government and Laws) and Bachelor of Laws Programme at HKU in 2018. 

      The Journal publishes articles in both English and Traditional Chinese from researchers, teachers, practitioners, and students all over the world. It accepts submissions in all areas broadly related to the intersection between law and politics, including but not limited to comparative constitutional law and politics, international law and relations, jurisprudence and political philosophy, and administrative law and public administration. 

     As the GLC’s in-house flagship publication, the Journal is committed to promoting a stronger understanding of cutting-edge issues that lie at the nexus of law and politics at the international and domestic levels, and to offering a robust platform for the exploration of ideas that will guide how societies are organised and governed. 

ABOUT THE INAUGURAL VOLUME 

The theme of the inaugural volume is “Confucian Democracy and Constitutionalism”. For decades, scholars and practitioners have been theorizing and debating possible models for Western political institutions such as representative democracy and constitutionalism to operate in East Asian countries in which the traditional Confucian culture is deeply embedded within. This interdisciplinary study features essays from leading political science, philosophy and legal scholars that engage these theories and debates through investigating multiple East Asian jurisdictions such as China, Vietnam and Korea to further illuminate our understanding on the Region’s political and constitutional future. This inaugural volume also features a review of the GLC's initiatives over the past year, including various forums, visits to legal and political institutions and career events.   The volume can be downloaded here.

     The Journal has been produced and edited under the supervision of Dr Eric Ip, and submissions from internationally renowned legal scholars (particularly from the fields of comparative constitutional law and political theory) including Professor Andrew Harding (NUS), Professor Daniel A. Bell (Shandong U), Dr. Jaclyn L. Neo (NUS), Dr. Bui Ngoc Son (CUHK) and Professor Sungmoon Kim (CityU) among others have been accepted.