Felix Chan and Chan Wai Sum on Revising the Amount of Statutory Bereavement Awards in Singapore (SJLS)

"On Revising the Amount of Statutory Bereavement Awards in Singapore"
Felix Chan, Chan Wai Sum
Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, September 2023, pp.481-489
Published online: September 2023

Abstract: This comment reviews the amount of damages for bereavement under the Civil Law Act 1909 in Singapore. It is argued that the current award is inappropriately low and needs to be increased. The statutory amount of bereavement damages should be reviewed periodically, taking inflation and changing economic conditions into consideration.

Felix Chan et al on Bringing legal knowledge to the public by constructing a legal question bank using large-scale pre-trained language model (Artificial Intelligence and Law)

"Bringing legal knowledge to the public by constructing a legal question bank using large-scale pre-trained language model"
Mingruo Yuan, Ben Kao, Tien-Hsuan Wu, Michael Cheung, Henry Chan, Anne Cheung, Felix Chan, Yongxi Chen
Artificial Intelligence and Law
Published online: July 2023

Abstract: Access to legal information is fundamental to access to justice. Yet accessibility refers not only to making legal documents available to the public, but also rendering legal information comprehensible to them. A vexing problem in bringing legal information to the public is how to turn formal legal documents such as legislation and judgments, which are often highly technical, to easily navigable and comprehensible knowledge to those without legal education. In this study, we formulate a three-step approach for bringing legal knowledge to laypersons, tackling the issues of navigability and comprehensibility. First, we translate selected sections of the law into snippets (called CLIC-pages), each being a small piece of article that focuses on explaining certain technical legal concept in layperson’s terms. Second, we construct a Legal Question Bank, which is a collection of legal questions whose answers can be found in the CLIC-pages. Third, we design an interactive CLIC Recommender. Given a user’s verbal description of a legal situation that requires a legal solution, CRec interprets the user’s input and shortlists questions from the question bank that are most likely relevant to the given legal situation and recommends their corresponding CLIC pages where relevant legal knowledge can be found. In this paper we focus on the technical aspects of creating an LQB. We show how large-scale pre-trained language models, such as GPT-3, can be used to generate legal questions. We compare machine-generated questions against human-composed questions and find that MGQs are more scalable, cost-effective, and more diversified, while HCQs are more precise. We also show a prototype of CRec and illustrate through an example how our 3-step approach effectively brings relevant legal knowledge to the public.

Yang Lin and Taorui Guan on From safe harbours to AI harbours: reimagining DMCA immunity for the generative AI era (JIPLP)

"From safe harbours to AI harbours: reimagining DMCA immunity for the generative AI era"
Yang Lin (PhD 2022), Taorui Guan
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice
Published online: August 2025

Abstract: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) overturns the passive-intermediary assumptions that underlie the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbour. Modern systems ingest vast, often unlicensed datasets and emit on-the-fly outputs through a supply chain that spans data suppliers, model developers and deployers—raising parallel concerns in the EU, UK, Hong Kong and other jurisdictions.

Building on DMCA section 512, this article sketches an ‘AI harbour’ that ties immunity to role-specific duties: provenance disclosure and transparency for data suppliers; dataset curation, memorization-mitigation and watermarking for developers and dynamic filtering, complaint handling and repeat-infringer policies for deployers. A new statutory section—administered by an ‘AI Division’ within the Copyright Office—would certify actors, audit compliance and endorse technical standards developed through industry co-regulation.

The proposal preserves the DMCA’s cooperative bargain while supplying clear, technologically realistic compliance pathways. Because its tiered obligations, administrative oversight and adaptive self-regulation can be grafted onto existing regimes, the model travels well: the EU could integrate comparable safeguards alongside the Digital Services Act and AI Act; the UK’s post-Brexit reforms and Hong Kong’s technology-neutral Copyright Ordinance could embed similar structures. In this way, the AI harbour could offer a scalable blueprint for protecting creators without chilling innovation in the generative era.

Yanru Chen on Applying human rights discourse in cultural objects restitution (International Journal of Cultural Policy)

"Applying human rights discourse in cultural objects restitution"
Yanru Chen (PhD Candidate)
International Journal of Cultural Policy
Published online: August 2025

Abstract: The landscape of cross-border restitution claims is shifting from state-centric approaches towards a greater focus on the rights and concerns of non-state actors, highlighting the critical importance of the human rights dimension in cultural objects that manifest the identity of a specific community. Human rights discourses encompass the right of participation and self-determination, as well as cultural heritage rights framed by cultural heritage instruments. These discourses play a key role in bridging the gaps within the current international legal framework, thereby promoting fair and just solutions to preserve and protect cultural objects. Despite ongoing debates around cultural internationalism versus cultural nationalism, the identification of rightful holders, conflicts of rights, alternative dispute resolution, and human rights courts may serve as effective forums to reinforce the impact of human rights in claims about the restitution of cultural objects. These forums can strengthen the enforcement of human rights principles in restitution claims, fostering solutions that respect the cultural and historical significance of disputed objects.

Suhong Yang and Shuai Guo on Selection process of judges and members at international courts and tribunals: in search of efficient transparency (JIDS)

"Selection process of judges and members at international courts and tribunals: in search of efficient transparency"
Suhong Yang (Global Academic Fellow), Shuai Guo
Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Volume 16, Issue 3, September 2025
Published online: August 2025

Abstract: Public attention has focused a lot on who the international judges are; however, the transparency of the selection process for judges and members at international courts and tribunals has been of less discussion. Transparency calls for more openness in the stages of nominating, selecting, and appointing judges or members, which in turn opens the door to public oversight of the process and may contribute to a better guarantee of the competence of judges and members. To improve the transparency of the judge selection process, this article comprises a comparative study of the judge selection process at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body, and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. It suggests an account of efficient transparency, which aims to achieve transparency with efficiency and align with the goals of these courts and tribunals.

Emily Lee on Digitalization and Tokenization of Money: Exploring Central Bank Digital Currency Theories and Retail CBDC Developments in China (BFLR)

"Digitalization and Tokenization of Money: Exploring Central Bank Digital Currency Theories and Retail CBDC Developments in China"
Emily Lee
Banking and Finance Law Review, Vol. 41 No. 2, May 2025, pp. 271–300
Published in May 2025

Abstract: Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) promote financial stability, inclusion and innovation in the digital economy. This article explores and reconceptualizes business management theories to enhance the understanding and characterization of CBDCs. From a theoretical standpoint, the governance, design principles and implementation of CBDCs align with institutional theory, stakeholder theory, technological innovation theory and open innovation theory. The interplay of these theories contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between CBDC stakeholders and the extensive array of opportunities and challenges presented by CBDCs. The theoretical frameworks are complemented by an examination of central banking legislation and monetary policy, as well as the potential impact on banking law and payment system regulations due to CBDC implementation, considering the significance of existing payment operators in facilitating CBDC distribution. In affording sufficient protection and in the interests of CBDC users, relevant issues in property law, data protection and privacy law are also considered. This article focuses on retail CBDCs, specifically China’s digital currency (e-CNY). As China’s central bank intends to cooperate with the G20 and other international organizations, e-CNY’s cross-border payments could have implications for monetary sovereignty, foreign exchange policies and regulatory compliance. China’s early e-CNY adoption serves as a vital case study for global central banks: CBDCs will likely have regulatory standards that reflect existing financial infrastructures and the ongoing US-China currency competition. This article aims to enhance understanding of legal challenges and practical concerns related to retail CBDCs, covering e-CNY’s core design features, CBDC’s impacts on existing laws, potential regulatory conflicts and competitiveness with existing payment systems. The article posits that account-based CBDCs can be considered a form of book money and can conform to the existing legal framework. Conversely, incorporating CBDCs into the present payment system necessitates recognizing token-based CBDCs as official payment methods, potentially requiring adjustments to pertinent legislation.

Full text of this article is available on SSRN, please click here.

Yun Zhao and Yanru Chen on The evolving lex mercatoria: a game-changer for transparency in international commercial arbitration (JIDS)

"The evolving lex mercatoria: a game-changer for transparency in international commercial arbitration"
Yun Zhao, Yanru Chen (PhD Candidate)
Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Volume 16, Issue 3
Published online: July 2025

Abstract: Transparency has been a crucial element in the evolution of lex mercatoria from its medieval origins to the contemporary lex informatica in cyberspace. The ongoing development of the medieval lex mercatoria underscores the significance of making arbitration reasoning publicly available, for two main reasons. Historically, medieval merchant courts did not favour strict confidentiality of decisions, and the modern requirement for safeguarding party, community, state, and global legitimacy in lex mercatoria also advocates for enhanced transparency in international commercial arbitration. The current transparency framework in investment arbitration and domain-name dispute resolution may serve as a roadmap for achieving a balance between transparency and confidentiality in international commercial arbitration. A restructuring of the transparency mechanism for such arbitration should focus on a mandatory system of publishing redacted arbitral awards.

Sean Yau (LLB 2016) on Natural resources at the crossroads of international environmental and trade law: Forgiving mismanagement or unfulfilled promises? (Jindal Global Law Review)

"Natural resources at the crossroads of international environmental and trade law: Forgiving mismanagement or unfulfilled promises?"
Sean Shun Ming Yau (LLB 2016)
Jindal Global Law Review
Published online: July 2025

Abstract: The question how to best effectuate natural resources management is predetermined by the limits to which a state retains its sovereign discretion to act in an equilibrium range bounded by legal norms superimposed by various fields of international law. While international environmental law seeks to procure sustainable, equitable, and responsible exploitation, distribution, and uses of natural resources in a national jurisdiction, WTO law points to the opposite direction. Despite its aspiration to attain sustainable trade at its inception, the law and practice of the WTO soon exposed various points of friction which are counterintuitive, at times contradictory, to the institutional philosophy advancing the co-existence of trade liberalisation and ‘optimal use of the world’s resources’ as expressed in the preambular text of its constitutional instrument. The constitutional failure to balance the dual-objectives transpires in the ambivalence of its Members to balance obligations arising from the two fields of law. This article argues that WTO law establishes certain structural relationships of favouritism prioritising trade freedom, which either fundamentally contradicts, excludes, or leaves very little room for considerations of international environmental law, or otherwise indirectly debilitates a Member’s regulatory autonomy to respect the same. In consequence, state behaviour has been largely uniformised by the homogeneity of trade rules, with a view to creating a ‘borderless’ global economy where natural resources are traded freely. Such surrenders natural resources management to the invisible hands of market conditions prone to unsustainable exploitation and inequitable distribution.

Douglas Arner et al on Building Open Finance: From Policy to Infrastructure (Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law)

"Building Open Finance: From Policy to Infrastructure"
Douglas Arner, Ross Buckley, Christine Wang, and Dirk Zetzsche
Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law
Volume 15, Issue 1 (2025)
Published online: June 2025

Abstract: As one of the most digitalized sectors of the economy, finance is increasingly dependent on data. Over the past decade, the implementation of Open Banking and Open Finance in an increasing number of major jurisdictions around the world, including the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), seeks to break down data silos, empower consumers, and increase competition among financial service providers, aiming to maximize the value of financial data for innovation, growth, and competitiveness. In addition to mandatory requirements, other governance approaches to Open Finance, including collaborative arrangements and voluntary initiatives, are emerging. For example, Singapore and Hong Kong are actively supporting the development of Open Finance through collaboration between regulators and industry, while both China and India are seeking to develop new approaches to making data available to support development, innovation, and competitiveness. In the United States (US), industry associations have promoted Open Finance practices, and a new mandatory rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on personal financial data rights is currently pending.

There are complex problems in the interaction between financial regulation and data governance in Open Finance. Customer data shared through an Open Finance system is both subject to financial regulatory requirements, such as rules governing the collection, processing, and use of financial data, and to the general governance framework for data protection. Furthermore, Open Finance initiatives adopted by different jurisdictions affect information sharing in domestic financial markets and in the cross-border transfer of financial data. The trend towards data localization and the asymmetry of data sharing leads to an unlevel playing field between market players, thereby exacerbating the problem of regulatory fragmentation in Open Finance regimes. Given the evolving nature of digital finance and the complexity of integrating data into its process, the main challenge is to develop appropriate governance approaches that can maximize the benefits of data sharing while mitigating new cross-cutting challenges in finance and data regulation.

Based on an analysis of experiences to date in leading jurisdictions, we synthesize a range of policy strategies to address the complex interplay of financial regulation and data governance inherent in building Open Finance. These hold important lessons also for the US as it moves forward. The multi-disciplinary nature of Open Finance requires coordination between regulators and industry to ensure policy coherence and technical interoperability. Where financial and data regulatory regimes intersect, it is important to establish a collaborative forum and/or provide general guidance to facilitate a better understanding of Open Finance governance and improve consistency in regulatory action across sectors. In response to the increasing digitalization of the economy, there is also the need to expand the scope of data sharing from the financial sector to other industries, and thus move towards a broader Open Data framework.

Rebecca Lee on Liberalisation of Trust Laws in Hong Kong: Continued Growth or Concealed Wealth? (New Book Chapter)

"Liberalisation of Trust Laws in Hong Kong: Continued Growth or Concealed Wealth?"
Rebecca Lee
Asia-Pacific Trusts Law, Volume 3, Boundaries in Context, Part IV, Chapter 17
Hart Publishing
Published online: May 2025

Abstract: This chapter critically examines the challenges faced by the liberalisation of trusts law in harmonising traditional trusts principles with the growing demand for settlor control and flexibility. The study focuses on two recent proposals put forth by the Law Society of Hong Kong, namely the legalisation of non-charitable purpose trusts and the legislative enshrinement of settlor reserved powers. These proposals serve as examples to illustrate the evolving trusts landscape, which aims to sustain the growth of the trusts industry while addressing the complication arising from concealed wealth. This chapter argues that non-charitable purpose trusts are conceptually feasible, their scope can be carefully delineated, and their practical utility outweighs the moral and social apprehensions surrounding them. In contrast, reserved powers trusts present more complex issues, and its wholesale acceptance deserves more close examination.

Kelvin Low and Jeremiah Lau on Reforming the Singapore Trust: Pushing or Breaking Boundaries? (New book chapter)

"Reforming the Singapore Trust: Pushing or Breaking Boundaries?"
Jeremiah Lau and Kelvin Low
Asia-Pacific Trusts Law, Volume 3, Boundaries in Context, Part III, Chapter 13
Hart Publishing
Published online: May 2025

Abstract: This chapter assesses the various enacted and proposed legislative reforms to Singapore’s trust law in the new millennium, including the Business Trusts Act, the Trust Companies Act and the amendments to the Trustee’s Act. We also consider the recent proposal to introduce non charitable purpose trusts. The tricky process of law reform is an interesting setting in which to consider various ‘boundary problems’ in trusts. Can statutory reform refine or sharpen the unclear boundaries of a judge-made trust law rule? To what extent can the conceptual boundaries of the English trust be modified by statute? Do these reforms push the boundaries of the trust to better adapt it to modern circumstances? Or do they threaten to break the institution of the trust altogether?

Full text of this chapter is available on SSRN, please click here.

Weixia Gu on All Flowers Blossom: The New Dynamic of Arbitration in Asia (Asian Dispute Review)

"All Flowers Blossom: The New Dynamic of Arbitration in Asia"

Weixia Gu

Asian Dispute Review

Published online: July 2025

Abstract: This article sets out the results of a study which examines and compares dispute and caseload data from six leading Asian international arbitral institutions over the period 2018-2024, updating the results of a study of 2018. The findings reveal that several Chinese institutions, notably the Shanghai International Arbitration Centre (SHIAC) and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), have outpaced their Singaporean counterpart, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), by a significant margin, in terms of (1) percentage growth in both total and average amounts in dispute and (2) what this means as to their role and influence in developing arbitration in the Asia region.

Wilson Lui and Vincent Ip on Conflicting Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Clauses (Asian Dispute Review)

"Conflicting Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Clauses"

Wilson Lui (Pre-Doctoral Fellow 2022–23), Vincent Ip

Asian Dispute Review

Published online: July 2025

Abstract: This article considers the approaches adopted by the courts of Hong Kong, Singapore and England & Wales towards the reconciliation or otherwise of conflicting dispute resolution clauses contained in multiple but related contracts. There is an overriding need for clarity of approach in construing conflicting clauses so that due regard may be had to upholding the agreed intention of the parties to such contracts. In addition to three broad paradigms of conflicting clauses, particular attention is drawn to a public policy-based ‘centre of gravity’ or ‘closeness’ approach that common law courts have recently begun to develop. The authors argue, however, that mutual invalidation of conflicting clauses should be avoided.

John Liu et al on The Psychological Case for Retaining Counsel: The Tipping Point Effect (MPI Collective Goods Discussion Paper)

"The Psychological Case for Retaining Counsel: The Tipping Point Effect"
John Zhuang Liu, Christoph Engel, Yun-chien Chang
MPI Collective Goods Discussion Paper, No. 2025/1
Available on SSRN: January 2025 (revised in June 2025)

Abstract: Although retaining legal representation generally increases a plaintiff’s chances of success, our analysis of over 9 million civil lawsuits from the United States, mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan reveals that a substantial portion of plaintiffs proceed pro se—even in high-stakes cases. We examine both rational-choice and psychological explanations for this phenomenon. One underexplored motive emerges from survey data: a sizeable fraction of represented plaintiffs report hiring a lawyer primarily to preserve their “peace of mind.” We hypothesize that this motive is influenced by plaintiffs’ subjective assessment of their likelihood of winning. When a case appears one-sided rather than a close call, the role of anticipated regret diminishes, and the incentive to seek legal counsel weakens. We term this the "tipping point effect" and validate it through experimental evidence.

Please click here to view the full text on SSRN.

Congratulations to HKU Law Student Finalists in Law Reform Essay Competition 2025

Congratulations to the 7 HKU Law student finalists in this year's Law Reform Essay Competition organised by the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. The topic was 'Should the common law tort of harassment in Hong Kong be reformed?' We are very pleased to see that all the finalists this year are HKU law students. The seven students are

• FUNG Wing Kan (Bachelor of Social Sciences (Government and Laws) and Bachelor of Laws (Year 4)),
• LEUNG Ting Man (Bachelor of Business Administration (Law) and Bachelor of Laws (Year 3)),
• LI Yinuo (Bachelor of Laws (Year 1)),
• MUI Yuen Ying (Bachelor of Laws (Year 5)),
• WONG Chin Hei Nathaniel (Bachelor of Laws (Year 3)),
• YEUNG Cho Yiu (Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Year 2)) and
• YEUNG Kei Shing (Bachelor of Laws (Year 3)).

All of their essays can be downloaded here. The Law Reform Commission held a ceremony to honour the students on 15 July 2025.

Dr Stefan Lo Cited by UK Supreme Court

Congratulations to Dr Stefan Lo whose articles (“Liabilities of Directors as Joint Tortfeasors” [2009] Journal of Business Law 109 and “Dis-attribution Fallacy and Directors’ Tort Liabilities” (2016) 30 Australian Journal of Corporate Law 215) were cited with approval by the UK Supreme Court in Lifestyle Equities CV v Ahmed [2025] AC 1, [2024] UKSC 17. The case concerned the issue of the circumstances in which a director of a company may be liable as an accessory in tort where the company is the main tortfeasor. A main thesis of the above articles from Dr Lo is that directors do not hold any special position by reason of being a director and that they, similar to employees or agents of a company, may be a joint tortfeasor with the company pursuant to the general principles of accessory liability and joint tortfeasors in tort law. Lord Leggatt SC agreed with this view in handing down his judgment (with which the other members of the Supreme Court agreed). Lord Leggatt SC (at para 35) adopted the terminology of “dis-attribution fallacy” as coined by Dr Lo (also referred to as a “dis-attribution heresy” by Campbell and Armour) – namely that it is a fallacy to suppose that attribution of acts of a director to a company necessarily results in dis-attribution of those acts from the director for all legal purposes. A number of Australian decisions have, in Dr Lo’s views, committed this fallacy. Lord Leggatt cited Dr Lo’s research on the Australian position (at para 71) and agreed with the view asserted by Dr Lo that to limit directors’ personal liabilities due to their acts being regarded as the company’s is incorrect. Earlier English cases had been moving towards this position as favoured by Dr Lo but there was also a suggestion by the English Court of Appeal that there remains a “constitutional exception” under which directors cannot be liable as joint tortfeasor with the company merely where their authorisation of the tortious act is done via their constitutional role in voting at a board meeting (MCA Records Inc v Charly Records Ltd (No.5) [2002] BCC 650, [2001] EWCA Civ 1441). Dr Lo argued that any such exception that effectively provides a ”safe harbour” for directors is inappropriate as a matter of both principle and policy. Lord Legatt SC agreed (at para 81).

Jedidiah Kroncke on Sino-American (De)Coupling: Economic Integration Through De-Democratizing Work (CJTL)

"Sino-American (De)Coupling: Economic Integration Through De-Democratizing Work"
Jedidiah Kroncke
Columbia Journal of Transnational Law
Published online: June 2025

Abstract: The concept of “decoupling” has quickly taken center stage in American and Chinese politics. Far beyond issues of international trade, the term has become a mutual domestic focal point for legitimizing new industrial and technology policy regimes. This rapid change has reversed the basic terms of the post-1978 U.S.-China relationship—turning each nation away from an aggressive embrace of economic globalization and towards an equally aggressive embrace of economic nationalism. Leaders in both countries now highlight the other as possessing polar opposite values, framing regulatory reform as demanded by these divergent values and as part of an existential international struggle.

Yet little attention has been given to how countries, now cast as antagonists with divergent values, came to have the most deeply intertwined major economies on the planet. While the sources of modern Sino-American economic intimacy are diverse, this Article focuses on how a convergence in assumptions regarding the ademocratic nature of the workplace powerfully facilitated this engagement. In tandem, isomorphic changes in U.S. and Chinese workplace regulation placed increasing emphasis on regulating employment contracts while minimizing any form of collective bargaining in favor of authoritarian notions of corporate governance. These distinct but parallel trajectories of workplace de- democratization manifested in another telling, if surprising, modern convergence: the promotion of employee ownership. On both sides of the Pacific, the ideal of employee ownership was advanced as a means of soothing the displacement of each country’s tradition of economic citizenship. Employee participation through share ownership never materialized as a significant aspect of either economy during this time, though it repeatedly found, and still finds, great rhetorical resonance in otherwise opposed political systems. Tellingly, the employee-ownership instruments that did develop were undermined by a strikingly similar set of legal techniques preventing employee-owners from contributing to more democratic workplaces.

Ultimately, this mutual process of de-democratization points to an implication current decoupling rhetoric actively avoids: that fundamental differences in formal political organization appear to have strikingly minimal impact on their citizens’ lived experiences of work and economic citizenship. This politically inconvenient commonality is critical for both necessary for understanding how this historical process of economic integration occurred and why coercive state power drives decoupling—rather than emerging as a private product of divergent values. Thus, while the future of U.S.-China relations is both consequential and uncertain, the rush to reframe the relationship must address unsettling questions underlying the two countries’ modern history of economic integration.

Gracious Avayiwoe on Evidence and the “Gravity of the Alleged Offences” for Prompt Release of Vessels and Crews under the UNCLOS Regime (Chinese JIL)

"Evidence and the “Gravity of the Alleged Offences” for Prompt Release of Vessels and Crews under the UNCLOS Regime"
Gracious Avayiwoe (PhD Candidate)
Chinese Journal of International Law, Volume 24, Issue 2
Published online: June 2025

Abstract: Amid recent developments signaling the revival of the Prompt Release procedure under Article 292 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention or UNCLOS) and to help guide the procedure’s future usage, this article confronts one of its topical but neglected controversy: the prejudgment concerns arising from the need to evaluate evidence to ascertain guilt or illegality under the “gravity of the alleged offences” factor (the gravity factor). The author employs the rules of interpretation outlined under Articles 31-33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) to examine the relationship between Article 292 of the UNCLOS and the gravity factor. The author concludes that the gravity factor calls for using presumptions rather than standards of proof when evaluating evidence. This perspective flows from the interpretative outcome, suggesting that Article 292 of the UNCLOS is towards securing future court attendance to determine the illegality occasioning the arrest and, as such, making irrelevant a definitive finding on guilt for the Prompt Release procedure. Consequently, presumption overcomes prejudgment implications as it would allow inferences from facts at the time of arrest to preliminarily conclude guilt to promptly release detained vessels and crews. Once the vessels or crews are released, the conclusion of guilt can be rebutted in the main proceedings meant to determine the alleged illegality. While the findings and the ensuing disregard for standards of proof dispel illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing (IUU-fishing) analyses often incorporated within the gravity factor, the author is of the view that a presumption-based regime will go a long way to address such concerns.

Yi Tang on COVID-19 Measures and Investment Treaty Claims: An Asian Perspective (new book chapter)

"COVID-19 Measures and Investment Treaty Claims: An Asian Perspective"
Yi Tang (PhD Candidate)

in Marc Bungenberg (ed), Manjiao Chi (ed), Andrea K. Bjorklund (ed), Asian Yearbook of International Economic Law
Published online: May 2025

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted unprecedented government measures worldwide. While essential for protecting public health, these measures may have negatively impacted foreign investments, leading to conflicts between host states’ rights to safeguard public interests and their obligations to protect foreign investment under international investment agreements (IIAs). This chapter explores the conflicts between COVID-19 measures and IIA obligations within Asian context, focusing on two primary grounds for potential investment treaty claims—breaches of the fair and equitable treatment (FET) standard and claims of unlawful expropriation. Through an analysis of the regulatory responses in Asian states, this study elucidates the complexities of these claims. The findings suggest that FET claims may become more prominent than expropriation claims in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, given their broader scope of application and lighter burden of proof. Through a forward-looking lens, this exploratory analysis provides insights for both Asian host states and foreign investors, aiming to map and navigate the potential landscape of future investment disputes in the post-pandemic era with greater clarity and preparedness.

Cora Chan’s book awarded Special Mention for ICON-S Book Prize

Congratulations to Professor Cora Chan for winning a Special Mention for the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Annual Book Prize with her book Deference in Human Rights Adjudication (Oxford University Press 2024). This prize is one of the most prestigious book awards in the field of public law. The judges awarded the honorary mention to Cora’s book for its “sophistication, analytical depth, and comprehensiveness with which [it] tackles the subject matter, promising to be a guide not just to courts and practitioners, but also to academics interested in the theoretical problems raised by the question of deference in adjudication.” 

Cora’s book was also one of two finalists for the 2024 Book of the Year Award from the International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism.