Report on the Hong Kong-Singapore Law Schools Conference 2016

Dean Hor welcoming participants.

The HKU-NUS-SMU Conference was held on 22 and 23 February 2016 at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. Participants from the Law Faculties of the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University joined Faculty members from the University of Hong Kong for two days of fruitful presentations and discussions. Colleagues from the Law Faculties of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong were also invited to participate. 

     Panels covered a wide range of topics, including International Law, Economic Regulation, Intellectual Property, Private Law, Corporate Law, Public Law, Dispute Resolution, Chinese Law, Criminal Law and Evidence.

     This conference enabled the Faculty members from all participating universities to meet and explore the possibility of future collaborations, as well as to engage in interesting and enjoyable legal discussions.  Report written by conference organizer Ji Lian Yap.

Congratulations to New Associate Professors (HKU Law)

HKU adopts a rigorous process in deciding promotion and tenure of its professoriate staff.  The offer of tenure and promotion to Associate Professor is awarded to staff who have "demonstrated excellence and contribution in the three areas of teaching and learning, research and scholarship, and University and community service".  A minimum of six external assessments from assessors at arm's length is normally required for each candidate's application.  The entire process can take up to a year's time.  The offer is approved by the President and Vice-Chancellor, on recommendation of the University Selection and Promotion Committee, the Faculty Promotion and Tenure Panel, and the relevant Department.

     Congratulations to Ji Lian Yap (commercial law), Weixia Gu (arbitration, mediation), Cora Chan (public law, judicial review), Haochen Sun (intellectual property, legal theory), and Kelley Loper (refugee law, human rights).  For the recent scholarship of these new Associate Professors, click on their names in the right sidebar of this blog.

Ji Lian Yap on Commercial and Company Law Reform

"Considering Commercial and Company Law Reform"
Ji Lian Yap
Statute Law Review

March 2015 (Advance Access)

Abstract: This article considers the factors that contribute to effective commercial and company law reform. First, the factors contributing to the success of the recent company law reforms in Hong Kong will be considered. Next, suggestions will be made as to how future law reform processes may be improved. These will be a focus on personal property security law, which involves aspects of both commercial and company law. Suggestions include the importance of considering insolvency implications, the formation of a Personal Property Security Law Working Group in Hong Kong, and the need to allow sufficient time for the law reform process.

$1.1M in New Small Project Research Funding

Congratulations to the Faculty members who were awarded HKU Small Project Research Grants up to $80,000 each. The projects cover a wide range of topics and are listed as follows (in no particular order):

1. Competition Law Enforcement against Abuses of Market Power in Hong Kong (36 months), Kelvin Kwok

2. Fiduciary Obligations: Justifying and Limiting Loyalty (24 months), Rebecca Lee

3. Reforming Anti-Dilution Law in China (24 months), Haochen Sun

4. Path Dependence and Interconnected Institutions: Implications for Legal Transplantation (24 months), Guanghua Yu

5. Implications of the New Round of Legal and Market Reform in China (30 months), Xian Chu Zhang

6. Eastern Values in International Arbitration: An Initial Exploration (36 months), Shahla Ali

7. Exercise of Legislative Power by the Executive (36 months), Jianlin Chen

8. A Comparative Legal Study on Tackling Cyberbullying and Protecting Children's Rights (24 months), Anne Cheung

9. Financial Planning for Mental Incapacity: A Tale of Two Confucian Cities (24 months), Lusina Ho

10. Survey of Public Opinion Toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in Hong Kong (24 months), Kelley Loper

11. Minority Shareholder Remedes in Hong Kong: Evolving Dispute Resolution Approaches (24 months), Katherine Lynch

12. The Interrelation between Case Law and Legislation in Aspects of Commercial Law (36 months), Ji Lian Yap

13. A statistical study of Constitutional and Administrative Law judgments from 1997 - 2012 (24 months), Antonio Da Roza

14. The Tightening of Transparency Requirements in the International Tax Regime and its Impact on Mainland China and Hong Kong (15 months), Doreen Qiu

15. Freedom of information and privacy protection in China: resolving conflicts and promoting accountability (18 months), Clement Chen

16. The Delicate Art of Med-Arb and Its Future Institutionalisation in China (18 months), Weixia Gu.