Outstanding Researcher Award 2023-24
Thomas Cheng
"A pioneer of the idea of public interest for copyright protection, which has a direct impact on policy debates in the international arena, Dr Haochen Sun is often interviewed by international and local press, including The Wall Street Journal and RTHK. His research on IP, technology and public interest is featured in international conferences and published in international legal journals. What impressed the selection committee is that Google adopted the wordings suggested by Dr Haochen Sun and by the impact his work has had on the debate in this area."
Research conducted by Professor Shahla Ali of the Department of Law directly impacted the FDRC’s ‘Proposal to Enhance the Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme’, which was launched in October 2016, and the FDRC’s consultation conclusions, which were published in August 2017. In these conclusions, the FDRC adopted three key reforms. The first was to increase the maximum claimable amount to HK$1,000,000 (up from HK$500,000 in the original rules). The second was to extend the time limit for lodging a claim to 24 months (up from 12 months) from the date of purchase or the date of first knowledge of the loss, whichever is later. Thirdly, the FDRC expanded its coverage to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have a relationship with financial institutions. 
"Dr. Shahla Ali’s research supported the enhancement of access to justice for injured financial investors in Hong Kong by contributing to a revised set of rules for the Hong Kong Financial Dispute Resolution Centre (“FDRC”). In January 2018, the FDRC adopted new rules enhancing services through raising the maximum claimable amount for aggrieved consumers from HK$500,000 to HK$1,000,000 and extending the limitation period from 12 to 24 months. These rules changes have resulted in expanded accessibility and strengthened investor protection in Hong Kong, reinforcing Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre. Her research also informed consumer financial policy design in Mainland China and Egypt."
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| L-R: L Ho & R Lee |
Marco Wan’s monograph, Masculinity and the Trials of Modern Fiction, is an exemplary work of law and literature. In Wan’s layered reading of five obscenity trials in 19th-century England and France, this book realises some of the most vital aims of the field. Wan’s command of law, and of literature, enables him to appraise the reading practices and pretensions of each, and to illuminate the courtroom conversations that take place between them. Wan asks a question at the heart of law and literature, how does the law read not just the texts but the novels that come before it? He answers this question by attending not only to final judgment, but to an original archive of trial transcripts, prosecution and defence submissions and oral argument. Wan’s reading of law’s encounter with these novels as shaping and preserving hegemonic forms of masculinity deepens his argument and extends the already impressive reach of this book. This is an exceptionally meticulous and beautifully crafted text: alongside its contribution of the fields of law, literature and masculinity and gender studies, Wan prosecutes his case with clarity and authority, and with the pleasure of the reader in mind.
This research provided the first and, to date, only empirical study of the adequacy of animal protection legislation in Hong Kong. The study generated widespread public discussion and impetus for law reform and was used by the Agricultural Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) to introduce new legislation controlling the breeding and sale of companion animals in Hong Kong with the enactment of the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Animal Traders) Regulations 2016. The study also resulted in significant policy change in stray-animal management and introduction of specialised training for police and prosecutors in presenting animal cruelty cases at court.
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| Amanda Whitfort at the SPCA HK |
