Congratulations to HKU Law Student Finalists in Law Reform Essay Competition 2026

Congratulations to the 6 HKU Law student finalists in this year's Law Reform Essay Competition organised by the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. The topic was 'The legal doctrines of maintenance and champerty, developed some 700 years ago, still apply to most litigation in Hong Kong. Should these doctrines be reformed in relation to such litigation? If so, why and how? If not, why not? ' The six students are

• Hui Chun Tak, Chezkel (Bachelor of Social Sciences (Government and Laws) and Bachelor of Laws (Year 4)),
• Jennifer Peng Jiayi (Bachelor of Laws (Year 2)),
• Shan Siyuan (Bachelor of Laws (Year 2)),
• Wang Zhiyu (Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Year 3)),
• Xiong Xiao Meng, Lauren (Bachelor of Social Sciences (Government and Laws) and Bachelor of Laws (Year 3)) and
• Yu Tung Ching (Postgraduate Certificate in Laws)

All of their essays can be downloaded here.

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.

HKU Law Champion in HSF Competition Law Moot 2024

The oral rounds of the 2024 Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot were held at King’s College London on 14-15 June 2024. The HKU Team consisted of Chan King Hei (BBA (Law) & LLB 3), Connor Gregory (LLM (CFL)), Lee Zee Faith (LLB 4), and Wong Ching Ho (PCLL). Based on EU competition law, the moot problem raised several issues concerning potentially abusive practices under Article 102 of the TFEU, the scope of the single economic entity doctrine under Article 101 TFEU, and the applicable standard of proof in EU competition law proceedings.

After surviving the preliminary rounds and two elimination rounds, the HKU Team advanced to the final round against Utrecht University from the Netherlands. There, the Team defended its case against a series of challenging questions from the judging panel, chaired by The Right Hon Lady Rose of Colmworth, Justice of the UK Supreme Court. The HKU Team ultimately emerged as the Champion, marking the fourth time HKU has won the competition since its inauguration in 2015. 

The HKU Team with the judges of the final round.
(Left to right): Ronan Flanagan (judge), Connor Gregory, Chan King Hei, Lee Zee Faith, Wong Ching Ho, The Right Hon Lady Rose of Colmworth (judge), Professor Alison Jones (judge),  William Kovacic (judge), Stephen Wisking (judge) 

In addition, the Team took home 3 individual awards in recognition of their advocacy skills, including Best Advocate for Connor Gregory and honourable mentions for Lee Zee Faith and Wong Ching Ho. The team’s written pleadings were also ranked 2nd out of 49 participating teams.

The Team would like to express their sincerest gratitude to Professor Thomas Cheng, Professor Kelvin Kwok, and Ms Allison Wong for their support and guidance. The Team would also like to thank the practice moot judges, Mr Byron Chiu, Mr Peter Dong, Mr Alex Yeung, Ms Clara Wong, Mr Martin Lau, and Mr Zixin Jiang, for their kind assistance and constructive feedback.

(Left to right): Professor Thomas Cheng, Chan King Hei, Connor Gregory, Lee Zee Faith, Wong Ching Ho, Ms Allison Wong

PhD candidate Ms Zhang Hongjiao Awarded Third Place in ATRIP Essay Competition 2020

 

Congratulations to Ms Hongjiao Zhang, HKU PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr Yahong Li, on winning the third place at the ATRIP Essay Competition 2020 with her paper “A Typological Framework for the Implied License Doctrine in Copyright Law”.   

Abstract: In property law, the transfer of the possession of movable property and the registration system of real estate can demonstrate the transfer of property ownership. However, intellectual property, including copyright, is intangible. The ownership of copyright cannot be inferred from the possession of the material object in which the work is embodied because the ownership of copyright is distinct from the ownership of the material object. Thus, to enhance the predictability and certainty of copyright ownership, including exclusive licenses of copyrighted works, a signed document is required in many jurisdictions. Nonexclusive licenses, however, carry no such requirements and can be granted via oral expression or implied from conduct. The point of the leading copyright treaties that “a nonexclusive license may be granted via oral expression or implied from conducts” has been cited in many US copyright cases. In this sense, an implied license addresses a gap in copyright law.  The paper can be downloaded here.

HKU Celebrates (Another) Victory in the HSF Competition Law Moot 2020

Congratulations to the HKU Law team, consisting of Jason Louie (LLB IV), Adrian Mak (PCLL), Clara Wong (PCLL), and Alex Yeung (PCLL), for winning the Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot 2020 hosted by King's College London! This is the third time HKU has won the championship in the Moot since its inauguration in 2014, and the first time that the oral rounds were held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The team was coached by Associate Professor Thomas Cheng, Assistant Professor Kelvin Kwok, and alumnus Allison Wong. We are particularly grateful to the practice moot judges, most of whom are mooting alumni representing HKU in past competitions, for their generous time and support.

HKU Law Students Win Inaugural Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational @ Georgetown Law (HK Lawyer)

"Hong Kong University Students Win Inaugural Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational by Creating AI-Powered Platform to Assist Injured Workers"

Hong Kong Lawyer
May 2020

Four students from the University of Hong Kong won the inaugural Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational organised by Georgetown Law with an AI-powered casebank to assist injured workers to get the compensation they deserve.

     The Iron Tech Lawyer Competition has been held for Georgetown Law students for 10 semesters by Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy. In 2020, for the first time, Georgetown Law created an Invitational for students from other law schools around the world who participated in academic courses or supervised independent study to incorporate technology for access to justice (A2J) projects with non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

     Originally, the student teams from around the world were scheduled to attend the finals in Washington DC. Alas, with the COVID-19 pandemic and suspension of travel and universities, the initial preliminary round, finals, and subsequent faculty workshop on teaching A2J technology, were held virtually across 5 time zones via Zoom.

     The HKU team won first prize on April 17 by overcoming rigorous competition from 10 different student teams around the world. Many of the participating teams qualified for the Invitational only after being selected over competing teams in their own schools. All told, over 100 students participated in creating projects for the Invitational, producing over 25 different projects for non-profit organizations. ...
     Competition judge Miguel Willis said: “I was very impressed with the winner of this year’s Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational – The University of Hong Kong team’s EC Casebank solution takes a novel and highly sophisticated approach to enhance the legal capability of injured workers’ to receive just compensation for their claims – within a simple and easy to use interface… showing much promise to empower workers to be active participants in the resolution of their claims." ...
     The winning team comprised project leader Chloe Lok Wing Chan, UX designer and programmer Cuthbert Chow, natural language processing (NLP) and data management lead Jasmine Chi Man Poon and business management lead Iverson Chun Ming Wong. The students were part of the first cohort of students of the LITE course held at Hong Kong University, which is part of LITE Lab@HKU, a new interdisciplinary and experiential programme to foster law, innovation, technology and entrepreneurship (LITE) led by founding executive director Brian Tang... Click here to read the full text. 

Congratulations to HKU Law Student Finalists in Law Reform Essay Competition 2020

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 'Internet Intermediaries Liability in Defamation – Should the Law 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

• KWOK Yu Hin (PCLL), 
• LAM Ching Wang (Bachelor of Laws (Year 2)), 
• LAW Kwan Pui Paul (Bachelor of Laws (Year 3)), 
• LEE Wai Chau (Bachelor of Social Sciences (Government and Laws) and Bachelor of Laws (Year 3)), 
• NGAN Sum Long Nicole (Bachelor of Business Administration (Law) and Bachelor of Laws (Year 5)), 
• WAN Pui Hin (Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Year 5)) and 
• YEUNG Jun Tao (Bachelor of Social Sciences (Government and Laws) and Bachelor of Laws (Year 4)). 

All of their essays can be downloaded here. The Law Reform Commission will normally hold a ceremony to honour the students later in the year.

Congratulations to Ms Deng Zhaoxia Winner of the Young Scholar Essay Competition (38th Annual ATRIP Congress)

Congratulations to Ms Deng Zhaoxia, a PhD student supervised by Dr Yahong Li, who was awarded the championship prize in the Young Scholar Essay Competition of the 38th Annual Congress of the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) on 25 August 2019 in Nashville, United States. ATRIP is a well established global intellectual property (IP) association currently with around 360 members who are prominent IP scholars from all over the world. Its nine Executive Committee members are nominated by the President and other existing executive committee members, and approved by a vote of the Assembly of the Congress. The competition is sponsored by the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI), and Ms Deng is the first Asian young scholar to win this prestigious award.  Her paper was titled "Readapting Copyright Law to Video Games: Comparative and Critical Analysis".

Congratulations to Dr Yahong Li and her PhD students in Chinese Intellectual Property

Congratulations to Dr Yahong Li who was appointed an expert for the Think Tank of China National Copyright Trading Bases (Yuexiu) on 20 June 2019 and a member of the Expert Committee of Peking University Great Bay Area Intellectual Property Institute on 21 June 2019. Dr Yahong Li was also invited to be a judge of the PhD Forum on Technology and Intellectual Property Law (2019) organized by Peking University on June 22-23​. At this forum, her fourth and second year PhD students, Huang Weijie and Deng Zhaoxia, were awarded second and third prizes respectively for their academic papers:

(1) Huang Weijie: “To Block or to Monetize: A Mechanism to Facilitate Copyright Reallocation." (the second prize) 

Abstract: The rule “to block or to monetize” provides copyright owners with liability-rule protection to gain advertising revenue from infringement, which facilitates efficient copyright reallocation when more and more user-generated contents (UGC) lay in the gray area between infringement and fair use. However, the current rule deprives UGC creators of the bargaining power against copyright owners, which not only stifles UGC creation but also refrains copyright from discovering more efficient exploiters through a dispersed market mechanism. To fulfill the purpose of the liability-rule protection, UGC creators should be permitted to restore the removed UGCs or share advertising revenue through counter-notification. 

(2) Deng Zhaoxia, "Critical Analysis on the Merchandising Rights of Fictional Characters: Chinese and American Perspectives" (the third prize)

Abstract: This paper takes fictional characters as the research objects to explore the connotation of their merchandising right. Through comparative and critical analysis of the phenomenon of “copyrighting trademark” of fictional characters in China and the phenomenon of “trademarking copyright” of fictional characters in America, it concludes that the merchandising right originates from commercialization outside the original works and serves to distinguish the origin or quality of the goods, which should be defined and protected legally as a commercial mark right and interest, belonging to the category of “trademark with certain influence”. Hence exercising this right must follow the general principles of trademark law and cannot hinder the freedom of expression or artistic expression.

Congratulations to Ho Lok Hei (LLB 2017, PCLL 2018) on His Winning Law Reform Essay

Congratulations to our former student Mr. Ho Lok Hei (LLB 2017, PCLL 2018) who was one of five finalists in the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong's Law Reform Essay Competition 2018.  This year's essay topic asked whether ride-hailing services should be regulated in Hong Kong and, if so, how.  Lok Hei argued that ride-hailing services should be allowed in Hong Kong but regulated to ensure safety to passengers and fair competition with those working in the existing taxi industry.  His paper can be viewed here.
    At an award ceremony officiated by the Secretary for Justice on 26 July 2018, Lok Hei's essay was recognised along four other finalists who were law students from the City University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

HKU Law Students Excel in Mooting Competitions (Maritime Law and Competition Law)

L-R: A Fung, J Ma, K Lee, F Chan,
R Cheung

The 19th International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot 

Competing against 29 universities from 14 overseas jurisdictions, the HKU Maritime Law Moot Team was awarded the 1st Runner-Up of the Oral Hearings held in Brisbane, Australia from 29 June to 3 July 2018. The 2018 Maritime Law Moot Team consisted of Alex Fung (PCLL), Justin Ma (PCLL), Ferrida Chan (BBA-Law) and Ryan Cheung (LLB), coached by Mr. Ken Lee. 

L-R: K Lee, R Cheung, A Fung, J Ma,
F Chan

    During the group stages, the Team came in 6th overall and later defeated both the National University of Singapore and University of Malaya to advance into the grand finals held in the Federal Court of Australia in Brisbane. Our heartfelt thanks go to Professor Anselmo Reyes, Dr Felix Chan, Mr. Winky So and the previous award-winning team for their comments in various practice sessions; and Mr. Ken Lee, our team coach, for his unwavering support throughout the year. 

HKU Competition Law Team Captured Best Written Pleadings Award 

The HKU Competition Law Team won the Best Written Pleadings Award for the written round on route to the semi-finals of the annual Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot from 15 to 16 June 2018. Guided by Mr. Thomas Cheng and Mr. Kelvin Kwok, the 2018 Competition Law Moot Team comprised of 4 PCLL students –Yuet Yi Cheng, Law Wai Tsun Hazel, Ng Chun Wai Jonathan and Karen Tsang Nga Yue. The Team advanced to the oral rounds hosted by King’s College London based on the strength of its written memorandum. 

L-R: J Ng, H Law, T Cheng, YY Chen,
K Tsang

     After winning all its moots in the preliminary stage with Wai Tsun Hazel capturing an oralist award, the Team subsequently lost in the semi-finals to KCL which was ultimately the winner of this year’s competition. The Faculty is grateful for the valuable support from team coaches Thomas Cheng and Kelvin Kwok and various practitioners and ex-mooters including Mr. Sunny Chan, Ms. Tiffany Chan, Ms. Jasmine Cheung, Mr. Tommy Cheung, Mr. Byron Chiu, Mr. Joshua Kanjanapas, Mr. Kevin Lau, Mr. Joe Lee, Ms. Rosa Lee, Ms. Allison Wong, and Ms. Stephanie Wong for their kind assistance. 

Hong Kong Team Wins at the Global Legal Hackathon (NYC, 21 April 2018)

L-R: Alison Li, Edelweiss Kwok, Sally Yiu

@DecodingLawHK #GLH2018 @hkuniversity

Congratulations to the winning Hong Kong team, Decoding Law, at the Global Legal Hackathon, held in New York City, 21 April 2018.  Fourteen teams competed on the stage and only four winners were recognised.  The Hong Kong team won in the public service category for their innovative project that uses machine learning and AI technologies to make reading legislation easier for the ordinary person including unrepresented litigants.  

The team comprises of HKU and CUHK law students, software developers and data scientists. The three HKU team members, Alison Li, Edelweiss Kwok, and Sally Yiu are currently studying in Year III of the combined law and business degree programme (BBA(Law) & LLB).  In her interview for the ABA Journal, Ms Yiu said she was "impressed to see so many talented minds collaborate and come up with feasible solutions to solve certain legal problems in society."  For other news stories of the event, see New York Law Journal and Artificial Lawyer.  This was the first ever Global Legal Hackathon to be held.  The other three winners were from the United States and Hungary.  The official press release can be viewed here.