HKU Legal Scholarship Blog
Follow the research activities and scholarship of the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong
Friday, August 15, 2025
Dr Stefan Lo Cited by UK Supreme Court
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Jedidiah Kroncke on Sino-American (De)Coupling: Economic Integration Through De-Democratizing Work (CJTL)
Jedidiah Kroncke
Columbia Journal of Transnational Law
Published online: June 2025
Monday, August 11, 2025
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
Friday, August 8, 2025
Yi Tang on COVID-19 Measures and Investment Treaty Claims: An Asian Perspective (new book chapter)
Yi Tang (PhD Candidate)
Published online: May 2025
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
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.
Monday, August 4, 2025
Jiajun Luo on Internalizing Public Disputes: The Rise of China’s Administrative Reconsideration Under Xi (HJRL)
Jiajun Luo (PhD 2025)
Hague Journal on the Rule of Law
Published online: June 2025
Abstract: This article examines the strategic shift in China’s public dispute resolution under Xi Jinping, marked by the elevation of administrative reconsideration over judicial review as the primary and preferred channel for resolving disputes between citizens and government agencies. The 2023 Administrative Reconsideration Law institutionalizes recent reform efforts, formalizing its role as a more flexible, efficient, and internally dispute resolution alternative to litigation. These changes support the Party’s vision of self-regulation within the bureaucracy and reduced dependency on courts, by bolstering administrative reconsideration’s procedural efficiency and institutional powerbase to review both legality and reasonableness of administrative actions. However, despite increased case volume, administrative reconsideration in China continues to face challenges, including bureaucratic resistance that limits its effectiveness in addressing citizen grievances. Moreover, although agency review aligns with the Party’s preference for concentrated power and minimal public scrutiny, judicial review and petitioning remain entrenched avenues for public dispute resolution. Ultimately, this internal approach reflects Xi’s vision of rule of law, in which public grievances are managed within the administration to project an image of an omnipotent state, capable of self-correcting governance issues. Rooted in China’s paternalistic tradition, administrative reconsideration embodies a broader theme to portrays the regime as a benevolent authority that resolves disputes on behalf of the public, rather than empowering individuals to address them independently.
Friday, August 1, 2025
Shangshu Liu et al on Managing destination stigma in post-pandemic tourism (Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research)
Shangshu Liu (JD candidate), Yuchen Xu, Catherine Cheung, Jeremy Ko, Chun Kai Leung
Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research
Published online: June 2025
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Yating Lin on Deciphering China’s Selective Adaptation to Investment Treaty Regime (JWIT)
Yating Lin (PhD candidate)
The Journal of World Investment & Trade
Published online: June 2025
Monday, July 28, 2025
Xiaoping Wu and John Liu on Constraints in the Economic Analysis of Law in China (AJLE)
Xiaoping Wu (SJD candidate) and John Liu
Asian Journal of Law and Economics
Published online: May 2025
Friday, July 25, 2025
Sida Liu on Against Digital Superstition: On the Pseudoscientific Development of the Sociology of Law in China (CLSR)
Sida Liu
China Law and Society Review
Published online: May 2025
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Shahla Ali on Deciding Lawsuits Outside of Court: Mediation in Hong Kong (New Book Chapter)
Shahla Ali
in Margaret Y.K. Woo & Cornelis H. van Rhee (Eds), Comparative Civil Procedure (Edward Elgar Publishing, March 2025), Chapter 21, pp.501-514
Published online: March 2025
Monday, July 21, 2025
Cora Chan on Pluralizing Constitutionalism (new book chapter)
Cora Chan
in Madhav Khosla (ed),Vicki C Jackson (ed),Redefining Comparative Constitutional Law: Essays for Mark Tushnet (Oxford University Press),Chapter 24,pp.355 - 368
Published online: November 2024
Friday, July 18, 2025
Call for Papers: 2025 HKU-ALSA Young Scholars Conference
- Corporate Law and Bankruptcy Law
- Law and Technology, with a focus on Law and Artificial Intelligence
- Empirical Legal Studies
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Name, affiliation and contact details of the presenter- Bio (no more than 150 words)- Full papers in English that are unpublished, including preliminary or early-stage drafts.
The expression of interest, along with the accompanying information above, should be submitted by 15th August 2025. Please use “Name_Paper Title” as the subject line of your email.
- Alex Zhicheng Huang, Global Academic Scholar, Faculty of Law, University of HongKong, HKSAR- Akshaya Kamalnath, Associate Professor of Law, Australian National University,College of Law, Australia- Amnart Tangkiriphimarn, Vice Dean for International Affairs and InternationalPrograms, Thammasat University, Faculty of Law, Thailand
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
RGC Awards $3.5 Million in Research Funding to HKU Law 2025/26
Congratulations to our five colleagues who were successful in the 2025-2026 round of research grant funding by Hong Kong's Research Grants Council (RGC). The three General Research Fund (GRF) projects that were funded cover a range of topics, from examining the impact of “revolving-door” judges in the Chinese judicial system to investigating China’s efforts to reshape public interest lawyering to exploring the relationship between China’s legal system, financial markets, and economic development. Two Early Career Scheme (ECS) project were funded to study the Integration of China's Patent System and Social Credit System, and introduction of statutory recognition of same-sex couples in Hong Kong. The details of the new funded projects are as follows:
GRF:
Professor John Liu
The Revolving Door in the Chinese Judiciary and Its Economic Consequences: A Quantitative Study, HK$1,064,000
Professor Ying Xia
Nationalizing Legal Mobilization: The Transformation of Public Interest Lawyering under Xi Jinping, HK$679,000
Professor James Zeng
China's Path of Law and Finance, HK$746,000
ECS:
Professor Taorui Guan
Big Data-Driven Governance: A Study on the Integration of China's Patent System and Social Credit System, HK$630,925
Professor Stefano Osella
Recognising Same-sex Partnerships in Hong Kong: Constitutional and Human Rights Perspectives, HK$406,816
Monday, July 14, 2025
CCL Member Professor Xin He delivered the keynote speech at the 9th Conference for Junior Researchers on Law and Society at Stanford Law School
On May 9, 2025, the Law and Society Association at Stanford Law School (LSAS) successfully held its Ninth Conference for Junior Researchers. The conference provided a forum for junior researchers to share their current research projects on law and society and receive input from faculty and other participants.
The focus of the conference was on the intersections of law, power, and reform, particularly in systems undergoing rapid political or social transformation. In particular, the conference explored how courts navigate these transformations, and the roles legal actors play in resisting or facilitating change.
Xin He, HKU Mok Sau-King Professor in Law and member of Philip K.H. Wong Centre for Chinese Law, was invited to deliver the keynote speech titled “A State Perspective on China’s Rights Development” at the conference. Emeritus Professor Lawrence M. Friedman from Stanford Law School delivered a warm opening remark, welcoming Professor He back to his alma mater and congratulating him on his achievements in the field of sociology of law, particularly in comparative Chinese legal studies.
In his keynote speech, Professor He introduced a viewpoint that diverges from the dominant rights mobilization approach, arguing that a state perspective and especially the dynamics between the state apparatuses offer crucial insights on China rights development. Professor He elaborated on this perspective through examples from several key areas of justice and explored the significance of the state perspective by comparing China with other authoritarian states. He noted the contrast with many authoritarian countries where law often opposes the state, pointing out that China’s legal system closely serves state interests. The extensive control of judges, courts, and legislative processes by the state highlights the unique context of China’s law and politics.
Participants in the conference included Stanford Law School professors such as Lawrence M. Friedman, Amalia D. Kessler, Deborah R. Hessler, Curtis J. Milhaupt, and Henry T. Greely. The attendees also included promising young scholars from academic institutions like Yale University, Duke University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Friday, July 11, 2025
Professor Simon Young joined the Editorial Board of Transnational Criminal Law Review (TCLR)
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Valeria Vázquez Guevara and Claerwen O’Hara on ‘We, the peoples of the Earth’: ALBA, populism and the making of an alternative international law (London Review of International Law)
"‘We, the peoples of the Earth’: ALBA, populism and the making of an alternative international law"
Claerwen O’Hara, Valeria Vázquez Guevara
London Review of International Law
Published online: May 2025
Monday, July 7, 2025
HKU Law Welcomes Prof. Valeria Vázquez Guevara
Valeria researches and teaches across the areas of international law, law-and-humanities, and land/property law. Valeria’s research engages with law-and-humanities methodologies to address questions of international law, its institutions, contestations, and geopolitical implications, especially between North-South and South-South actors. The research builds on Valeria’s personal and professional experiences in international development and peacebuilding projects in El Salvador, Spain, the Basque Country, and South Africa.
Valeria is the author of Truth Commissions and International Law (Cambridge University Press, in press). The book examines how Truth Commissions deal with the plurality of (rival) accounts that exist across communities to establish an authoritative account of the past. It expands on her doctoral thesis at Melbourne Law School, which won the University of Melbourne Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis and Melbourne Law School’s Harold Luntz Prize for Best Doctoral Thesis. Valeria’s next major research project focuses on the historical and contemporary relationship between ASEAN and international law, with a particular focus on land tenure issues.
Valeria serves as member of the executive committee of the Law, Literature and Humanities Association of Australasia, and as co-convener of the Critical Approaches to International Law Interest Group of the European Society of International Law (ESIL). Previously, Valeria has served as co-chair of the History and Theory of International Law Interest Group of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (2022-2025), and as Managing Editor and Editorial Board member of the Australian Feminist Law Journal (2021-2023).
Friday, July 4, 2025
HKU Law Welcomes Prof. James Zeng
Prof. Zeng works on corporate law, the Chinese legal system, and empirical legal studies. His independently authored works have appeared or will appear in highly selective peer-reviewed journals such as the American Journal of Comparative Law, American Business Law Journal, American Bankruptcy Law Journal, International Review of Law and Economics, European Business Organization Law Review, Journal of Environmental Law, Journal of Corporate Law Studies, Peking University Law Journal(中外法學), Global Law Review(環球法律評論), Political Science and Law(政治與法律), and Hong Kong Law Journal, as well as leading student-edited law reviews such as the Columbia Journal of Asian Law, N.Y.U. Journal of Law and Business, University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Berkeley Business Law Journal, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, and Review of Banking and Financial Law. His doctoral dissertation, State Ownership as a Substitute for Costly Regulation, was supported by the Oscar M. Reubhausen Fund at Yale Law School and is currently under contract for publication by Cambridge University Press. He has also conducted research on Chinese corporate law supported by the Early Career Scheme of the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong, China.
Professor Zeng graduated from Yale Law School with an LL.M and a J.S.D. degree. Prior to that Professor Zeng graduated from Peking University (LL.B., B.A. in Economics, Mphil in Law). He passed the National Judicial Examination of China and is admitted to the New York State Bar. Prior to joining HKU, he served as a tenured Associate Professor of Law, Convenor of the Faculty Seminar Series, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Comparative and Transnational Law, and Deputy Director of the LLM Program at the Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
HKU Law Welcomes Prof. David Winterton
Prior to his arrival in Hong Kong, David was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, and prior to that a Lecturer at UNSW and a stipendiary lecturer at St Anne’s College, Oxford. He holds a BSc (Pure Mathematics) and an LLB from UNSW and a BCL (Dist), MPhil and DPhil from the University of Oxford. Additionally, David has spent some time in legal practice in both Sydney (commercial litigation) and New York (Bankruptcy & Restructuring). He is admitted as a legal practitioner in NSW (2006) and as an Attorney in New York (2012).