RGC funded Collaborative Research Project on Mitigating Legal and Climate Risk in Asia Pacific Infrastructure Development

Congratulations to the research team awarded a RGC Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) Grant of $2 million for the project "Mitigating Legal and Climate Risk in Asia Pacific Infrastructure Development".  The project began in June 2025 for a duration of 36 months. It aims to develop a framework for assessing the sources of legal risk associated with infrastructure investment projects resulting in legal disputes. 

It is led by Prof. Shahla Ali of University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law and includes Co-Principal Investigators from HKU Law (Prof. Ying Zhu), HKU Social Sciences (Prof. David Palmer and Prof. Hui Li), and PolyU Construction and Environment (Prof. Tarek Zayed), and collaborator from HKU Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (Ms. ZiWei Fan).  This is another good example of an interdisciplinary collaborative research project. There are few law-related projects supported by the CRF fund, so well done to the team and hopefully we will see more CRF collaborations with legal academics in Hong Kong.

Ying Zhu on A quasi-normative conflict: Resolving the tension between investment treaties and climate action (RECIEL)

"A quasi-normative conflict: Resolving the tension between investment treaties and climate action"
Ying Zhu
Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law
Published online: July 2024

Abstract: The conflict between investment treaties and climate action is escalating due to recent investment arbitration cases challenging States' fossil fuel phase-out measures as violations of investment treaty obligations. As countries continue to implement climate mitigation and adaptation measures across various industries, this tension is expected to result in a rise in climate-related investment arbitration claims. The current literature has primarily presented the tension between investment and climate treaties as a vertical conflict, with investment treaties having a chilling effect on States' climate regulation. The common defence for States' regulation has been based on their ‘right to regulate’. It remains unclear whether there exists a horizontal conflict between investment and climate treaties, primarily due to the flexible nature of climate treaty obligations. However, a sovereignty-based justification fails to recognise the international obligation of climate action and is insufficient for reconciling the conflict. This article delves into the intricate nature of the conflict between States' climate measures and their investment treaty obligations and argues that the conflict exhibits a ‘quasi-normative’ nature, given the combination of binding climate obligations, permissive implementation methods and normative expectations of ambition. The article suggests that investment treaties should include clearly defined conflict clauses that outline the scope of the conflict between investment and climate treaties and establish specific mechanisms for resolving such conflicts.

Ying Zhu Awarded 3rd prize of the 9th Qian Duan-sheng Award for Legal Research Achievement

Congratulations to Ying Zhu (朱颖), whose article “Do clarified indirect expropriation clauses in international investment treaties preserve environmental regulatory space?” was awarded the 3rd prize of the 9th Qian Duan-sheng Award for Legal Research Achievement. The article was published in the HARVARD INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, volume 60, issue 2, pp. 377-416, published in August 2019.

    Background on the prize: The biennial Qian Duan-sheng Award for Legal Research Achievement is a national award for legal research established by China University of Political Science and Law in memory of Dr. Qian Duan-sheng (1900-1990) for his remarkable contribution in advancing the law studies in China. The award was established in 2006 which aims to promote the development of law studies and the establishment of rule of law in China. The Award Committee is composed by leading Law experts in China. With significant global academic and social influences, the Qian Duan-sheng Award for Legal Research Achievement is one of the most important awards in Chinese law academia. For more information on the award, click here (in Chinese).

HKU Law Welcomes Dr Ying Zhu, Assistant Professor

HKU Law Welcomes Dr Ying Zhu 朱颖, Assistant Professor in the Department of Law.  Dr Zhu’s research focuses on the interaction between international economic law and sustainable development. Her academic interests include international investment law, international trade law and environmental law. She has published articles on Harvard International Law Journal, New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, Columbia Journal of Environmental law, Natural Resources Journal and Nordic Journal of Commercial Law.

     Prior to joining the HKU, Dr Zhu was an assistant professor at Renmin University of China Law School, where she was the Deputy Secretary-General of the Institute of International Commercial Dispute Prevention and Settlement. Dr Zhu was a senior assistant to the president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She has served as a legal expert in the Chinese delegation of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Working Group III (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform).

     Dr Zhu holds LL.M. and J.S.D. degrees from Yale Law School, and a LL.B. degree from China University of Political Science and Law. She received the Howard M. Holtzmann Fund in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution and the Oscar M. Ruebhausen Fund at Yale Law School. Her doctoral dissertation “Too Much of Two Good Things: Reconciling the Tension between Investment Protection and Environmental Protection in International Law” won the William T. Ketcham Jr. Prize of the Yale Law School (awarded annually to the best student paper in the field of private international law).

Selected Publications
1. “A Bottom-up Dilemma: International Investment Law and Environmental Governance,” in Vol. 48 Columbia Journal of Environmental Law (forthcoming);

2. “Do Clarified Indirect Expropriation Clauses in International Investment Treaties Preserve Environmental Regulatory Space?,” in Vol. 60.2 Harvard International Law Journal, 377-416 (2019);

3. “Environmental Discrimination in International Investment Law,” in Vol. 51 New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, 385-433 (2019);

4. “Fair and Equitable Treatment of Foreign Investors in an Era of Sustainable Development,” in Vol. 58.2 Natural Resources Journal, 319-363 (2018);

5. “Corporate Social Responsibility and International Investment Law: Tension and Reconciliation,” in Vol. 2017/1 Nordic Journal of Commercial Law, 90-119 (2017).

Teaching
LLAW3153 China Investment Law
LLAW6186 China Trade Law