Weilin Xiao awarded the Hessel Yntema Prize 2025

Congratulations to Weilin Xiao, whose article “Expansion and Restriction: Divergent Paths Towards Modernizing Family Law in China and Japan, 1868-1930” was awarded the Hessel Yntema Prize 2025 by the American Society of Comparative Law. This article forms the first part of Weilin's doctoral dissertation, which he is currently developing into a book manuscript

Background on the prize: Established in 1991 to honor the first editor in chief of the American Journal of Comparative Law, the Hessel Yntema prize of $1,500 recognizes the “most outstanding” article by a younger scholar under 40 years of age published in a recent volume of the Journal. Please click here for more details regarding the prize.

Valeria Vázquez Guevara Awarded the Chancellor's Prize 2024 (Humanities, Creative Arts and Social Sciences)

Congratulations to Valeria Vázquez Guevara, whose PhD Thesis “Truth Commissions: The Authority of International Law and the State after Conflict” was awarded the Chancellor's Prize 2024 by The University of Melbourne. The thesis was supervised by Professor Sundhya Pahuja and Professor Shaun McVeigh. The thesis forms the basis of Valeria's forthcoming monograph, Truth Commissions and International Law: Jurisdiction, Representation, Authority (under contract, Cambridge University Press).

     Background on the prize: The Chancellor's Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis is awarded by the University of Melbourne each year to up to six nominees. A seventh award may be made to an Indigenous candidate. The awards recognize the quality of the research theses including international reach, impact or potential impact of the topic, publications or other research outputs. Please click here for more details regarding the prize.

Yating Lin Awarded the 2nd Runner-up of the 2024 Young ITA Writing Competition and Award

Congratulations to Yating Lin (PhD candidate), whose one chapter of her doctoral thesis was awarded the 2nd Runner-up of the 2024 Young ITA Writing Competition and Award by the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, Young ITA. The thesis was supervised by Professor Weixia Gu and co-supervised by Professor Yun Zhao. 

     Background on the prize: The writing competition organized by Young ITA is a unique opportunity for young professionals to contribute actively to the research of international arbitration and to be recognized as qualified voices in this area, as well as to get involved in the activities of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration. 

Valeria Vázquez Guevara Awarded the Harold Luntz Graduate Research Thesis Prize 2023

Congratulations to Valeria Vázquez Guevara, whose PhD Thesis “Truth Commissions: The Authority of International Law and the State after Conflict” was awarded the Harold Luntz Graduate Research Thesis Prize 2023 by the Melbourne Law School. The thesis was supervised by Professor Sundhya Pahuja and Professor Shaun McVeigh. The thesis forms the basis of Valeria's forthcoming monograph, Truth Commissions and International Law: Jurisdiction, Representation, Authority (under contract, Cambridge University Press).

     Background on the prize: The Harold Luntz Graduate Research Thesis Prize is awarded annually to the Melbourne Law School graduate research student judged to have presented the best thesis in the previous year, provided that the nominee meets an overall level of excellence required for the award. It is named for Emeritus Professor Harold Luntz, a world expert on torts law and a former dean and professor at Melbourne Law School.

Congratulations to Dr Melissa Loja, recipient of the Li Ka Shing Prize

Congratulations to Dr Melissa Loja who was awarded the Li Ka Shing Prize for her PhD thesis submitted in the academic year 2017-2018. In 1990, Dr. Li Ka Shing made a generous donation to the University. Part of the investment income earned on the donation has been used to establish the Li Ka Shing Prizes, which are awarded annually to up to six MPhil / PhD theses on the basis of academic excellence. The Prizes are in the form of a gold-plated medal plus a cash prize. Dr Loja's thesis was titled 'International Agreements between Non-state Actors as a Source of International Law: A study of international unitization agreements between petroleum agencies and corporations' and was completed under the supervision of Professor Simon Young.  She is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore.

Congratulations to Dr Odysseas Repousis and Mr. Gary Meggitt on their RPG Thesis Awards

Congratulations to Dr Odysseas Repousis and Mr. Gary Meggitt who have been awarded the University's 2016-2017 Li Ka Shing Prizes endorsed by the HKU Board of Graduate Studies.

     The Li Ka Shing Prizes were established when the Hong Kong tycoon Dr Li Ka Shing made a generous donation to the University in 1990 under the stipulation of awarding six theses, four of which are PhD and two of which are MPhil annually in and after 2005-06.

     Dr Repousis' awarded PhD thesis, "The rise of multilateral investment treaties and the development of customary international investment law", was written under the supervision of Dr James Fry.

   Mr Meggitt's awarded MPhil thesis, "Mediation and ADR Privilege – the Existing Law and Potential Reforms" was written under the supervision of Ms. Janice Brabyn.

     Only one other HKU Law graduate has been awarded the Li Ka Shing Prize (Dr PY Lo, 2010-11), while four students have received the Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student Award (Dr Maria Carrai and Dr Han Zhu, 2015-16; Dr Clement Chen, 2012-13; Dr Robert Morris, 2006-7).

Congratulations to Our Two Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student Awardees

Congratulations to our two PhD graduates, Dr Maria Carrai and Dr Han Zhu, who were recently awarded 2015-16 Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student Awards from the University of Hong Kong.  Both students were supervised by Cheng Chan Lan Yue Professor in Constitutional Law, Professor Albert Chen. Only two other Faculty of Law students have received this award in the past. 

    Dr Carrai's thesis was titled A Genealogy of Sovereignty in Modern China, 1840-today, and her examination panel included Professor Yu Xingzhong of Cornell University and internal examiners Simon Young and Michael Ng.  Since graduation, Dr Carrai has been a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute.  

     Dr Zhu is currently an Assistant Research Officer in the Centre for Chinese Law at the University of Hong Kong.  Her thesis was titled Social Movements and the Law in Contemporary China: A Comparative Perspective, and her examination panel included Dr Eva Pils of Kings College London and internal examiners Hualing Fu and Richard Cullen.

Winner of the Intersentia Prize 2014-2015 (Best PhD Thesis in Law)

Congratulations to Dr Zuo Changwu for winning the 2014-2015 Intersentia Prize for the Best PhD Thesis in Law.  Dr Zuo's thesis is entitled "An Analysis of Rules Governing Limited Liability Companies in China: Between Contracts and Regulation", and her supervisor was Professor Yu Guanghua.  The runner-up was Dr Kalana Senaratne for his thesis "A Critical Exploration of Internal Self-Determination under International Law, with Particular Reference to the Sri Lankan Conflict", supervised by Professor CL Lim.  The Intersentia Prize was established in 2012 to acknowledge, support and encourage outstanding PhD and SJD research.  The prize winner is chosen by an international prize committee on a yearly basis.  The value of the prize is GBP500, and both the winning and runner-up theses will be considered for publication by Intersentia.

Congratulations to Dr Shitong Qiao on Receiving the Judge Ralph K Winter Prize (Yale Law School)

Congratulations to Dr Shitong Qiao whose JSD dissertation was awarded the Judge Ralph K Winter Prize 2014-15 by Yale Law School. The prize is awarded annually to the best student paper written in law and economics. Dr Qiao's thesis was entitled, "Chinese Small Property: The Co-Evolution of Law and Social Norms". The dissertation investigates a market of informal real estate in China, referenced by the term “small property” (xiaochanquan), as their property rights are smaller/weaker than the big/formal property rights. His dissertation investigates the formation and operation of this market, and how it interacts with the legal system and eventually leads to legal reforms. Based on this case study Dr. Qiao argues that property norms can change more swiftly than property law and serve as imperfect institutional infrastructure for market transition. His dissertation also develops a model for the co-evolution of property law and norms with particular implications for developing countries. Click here for some of Dr Qiao's recent research outputs.