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Speakers

Keynote Speakers:

Rong-Chwan Chen (PhD in Law, National Cheng-chi University, Taiwan) is a University Distinguished Professor at National Taipei University, where he served as the Chairperson of Department of Judicial Studies from 2005 to 2007 and Chairperson of Department of Law from 2010 to 2012. He is an associate member of the International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL/AIDC) and concurrently serves as a vice president of the Taiwan Association of Private International Law and a vice president of the Taiwan Jurist Association. Before joining National Taipei University in 2004, he was a Professor at Soochow University School of Law, Taiwan. He was appointed as a Commissioner of the Fair Trade Commission to enforce Taiwan’s antitrust law in 2009. His work, focusing on issues of private international law and the law of property, is published in several books and more than 200 articles and chapters. In particular, he was appointed as the key drafter to prepare the comprehensive revising draft of Taiwan’s Act on Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements and its explanatory comments. After the Congress passed the enactment in 2010, he prepared its English translation which is now widely accessed on the government website and internationally circulated.

Professor Jonathan Harris KC (Hon.) is a Barrister at Serle Court Chambers, London and Professor of International Commercial Law at King’s College, London. He is the general editor (with Lord Collins) of the leading work Dicey, Morris and Collins, The Conflict of Laws (16th edition, 2022). He is co-editor of the Journal of Private International Law; and joint series editor of the Oxford University Press private international law book series. He is co-author of Underhill and Hayton, Law of Trusts and Trustees (20th edition, 2022); and co-editor of Essays in International Litigation for Lord Collins (2022). He has previously authored a substantial number of leading works, including The Hague Trusts Convention and (as co-author) International Sale of Goods in the Conflict of Laws. As a barrister, has appeared in numerous leading cases around the world, including in the UK Supreme Court and Privy Council. He has also written trusts legislation for a number of jurisdictions.  He sits on the UK Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law.
Yuko Nishitani is Professor of Private International Law at Kyoto University in Japan and Vice President of the Hague Academy of International Law. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg and was awarded the Philippe Franz von Siebold Prize in 2020. She has held visiting appointments at New York University and Duke University, among others, and represented the Japanese government at the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Her areas of interest include private international law (or conflict of laws), comparative law, and family law, with a special focus on global legal pluralism, extraterritoriality, corporate due diligence, SDGs, cultural identity, and colonialism. She authored Mancini und die Parteiautonomie im Internationalen Privatrecht (2000) and Identité culturelle en droit international privé de la famille (Recueil des cours, Vol. 401 (2019)), co-authored Japanese Private International Law (2021), and edited Treatment of Foreign Law: Dynamics towards Convergence? (2017).
Keisuke Takeshita is a professor of private international law at Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University in Japan. He was the first delegate of Japan at the 22nd Diplomatic Session of HCCH. Currently, he is the Chair of the Working Group of the HCCH Jurisdiction Project. He has engaged in many legislative projects concerning private international law in Japan. He was working at the Ministry of Justice as a senior researcher for the modernization of the Japanese choice of law rules. He was also an associate member of various subcommittees of the Legislative Council, including those on jurisdiction (family law matters), the revision of the Code of Civil Procedure (Use of IT), and the revision of the Arbitration Act.

Prof. Yun ZHAO is Henry Cheng Professor in International Law and Associate Dean (Mainland Affairs), Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong (HKU); PhD (Erasmus University Rotterdam); LLM (Leiden University); LLM & LLB (China University of Political Science and Law). Prof. Zhao is currently Representative of Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH); Standing Council Member of Chinese Society of Private International Law; Standing Council Member of Chinese Society of International Law; Council Member of Chinese Law Society; Council Member of Zhuhai International Court of Arbitration. He is listed as arbitrator in several international arbitration commissions.

Speakers / Moderators:

Rico Chan is a Supervising Associate at Simmons & Simmons based in Hong Kong. Rico advises and represents international businesses in complex and high-value contentious matters, covering employment workplace conflicts, enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards, sale of goods claims, settlement negotiation, mediation, international arbitration, property litigation, technology disputes, commercial frauds, cyber-crimes, insolvency, restructuring and regulatory investigations, which often involve cross-border elements. Rico completed a secondment with Ant Group, one of the largest tech companies in the world, where he worked in the Legal Department for 1.5 years. During his secondment, he handled a wide range of global employment projects, dispute management work and internal investigations, delivering strategic advice and risk analysis/guidance on employment law issues for Ant’s offices across APAC and EMEA regions. He has also organized various legal trainings for business executives, HR directors and employees. Before joining Simmons, Rico trained and qualified in another international law firm where he was seconded to its London headquarters for half a year. He has also worked in different cities in Mainland China, such as Beijing and Hangzhou.
Dr. CHONG is an Associate Professor of Law at Singapore Management University, where she teaches Commercial Conflict of Laws and Law of Equity and Trusts. She obtained a PHD degree at University of Nottingham. Prof. CHONG’s research focuses on private international law, equity and trusts and restitution. Her publications have appeared on lots of leading international journals.
Mr. Tao DU (杜濤) is Dean and Professor at International Law School of the East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL) in Shanghai. He is the Standing Member of Chinese Academy of International Law and Vice President of Chinese Academy of Private International Law, Deputy Director of the Centre for Proof of Foreign Law, Director of BRICS Legal Studies and Director of the Research Centre (ECUPL) for International Judicial Assistance of the Supreme People’s Court. He is author of many books and articles about private international law and comparative law.
Dr. Béligh Elbalti is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics – Osaka University, where he teaches, inter alia, Japanese law, comparative law, Islamic family law, and private international law. He is the author of a number of scientific articles and case notes, mainly in the field of private international law. His research focuses on the development of private international law at a national level and international level, especially in Asia and the Middle East.
 

Since taking up a full-time appointment at CUHK Faculty of Law in 2009 Alan Gibb has taught Conflict of Laws on both the LLB and JD programmes. He has been the editor of the 2019, 2022 and 2024 issues of Conflict of Laws Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong. His publications include Mainland China: forum non conveniens Hong Kong Lawyer 2011; Asian Conflict of Laws East and South East Asia , Hong Kong Chapter 2015, An Introduction to Conflict of Laws in Hong Kong , co-author with Richard Morris and Professor Dicky Tsang , third edition to be published in 2025 and Conflicting Limitation Periods : A Comparison between Hong Kong And Mainland China, Cardozo International and Comparative Law Review  Fall 2021 Volume 5 Issue1 –joint author with Professor Dicky Tsang. He has also presented a seminar on The Effectiveness of Jurisdiction Clauses in Settling Hong Kong Forum Disputes in the CUHK Cross-Border Legal Issue Series.

Dr. Weixia Gu is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. She was the youngest recipient in Hong Kong of the Fulbright Award from the US State Department and was appointed an Honorary Young Fellow at New York University before she joined HKU. Gu’s research focuses on arbitration, dispute resolution, private international law and cross-border legal issues. She has published 2 monographs, 3 edited books, and authored over 60 articles a few of which have appeared in (or forthcoming with) leading international law journals such as the American Journal of Comparative Law, Harvard International Law Journal, Chicago Journal of International Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Cornell International Law Journal, Washington International Law Journal, Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business, among others. Her Chinese publications have appeared on leading Chinese law journals such as the Peking University Law Journal, The Jurists, etc. She is one of the most prolific authors at the Faculty of Law.

Mr. Junhyok JANG is a professor of private international law at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Seoul, South Korea. After studying at the University of Chicago, Stanford Law School and New York University, he obtained a Ph.D. degree at Seoul National University, submitting a thesis on the extraterritorial application of antitrust laws. He also practised briefly for Kim, Chang & Lee before he began teaching. He was a member of the law reform commission for adding jurisdiction provisions to the revised Korean Private International Law Act (2022) and the Korean delegation for the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention. He is now participating in the Working Group for the Jurisdiction Project at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. His recent research includes general jurisdiction, special jurisdiction in trusts, employment contract, and torts including intellectual property infringement, as well as some preliminary issues in choice of law.

Professor Jiao Yan is currently an Associate Professor in Nanjing University, where she teaches private international law and international litigation. She earned her PhD from Wuhan University. Prof. Jiao was a visiting scholar at Willamette University and Duke Univeristy. She is also a council member of Chinese Society of Private International law. So far, she has published a book and multiple siginificant journal articles in core Mainland China academic journals.

 
Alan K. Koh (Dr jur, Frankfurt am Main; FHEA; Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore) is Assistant Professor at the Division of Business Law, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Academic Fellow at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS Law); and Research Scholar [部局研究員] at the Graduate School of Law, Kobe University. He has taught at NUS Law, the University of Tokyo, Kobe University, Thammasat University, and Jagiellonian University in Krakow. His research interests include comparative corporate law and governance, Asian laws, and private international law. He has published in journals including American Journal of Comparative Law, University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Journal of Corporate Law Studies, and Junkan Shōji Hōmu [旬刊商事法務]. He is the author of Shareholder Protection in Close Corporations (Cambridge University Press, 2022) and a co-editor and co-author of Introduction to Singapore Business Law [シンガポールビジネス法のエッセンス] (Chuōkeizaisha, 2022) (in Japanese). He is the recipient of multiple best paper awards for his work and an elected Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law (since 2021). He served as a National Reporter for Singapore for the General Congresses of the Academy (2018, 2022) and also coaches the NUS team for the Japanese language division of the Intercollegiate Negotiation Competition organized by Sophia University.
Jyh-An Lee is Professor, Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation and Digital Society, and Outstanding Fellow of the Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Professor Lee holds a J.S.D. from Stanford Law School and an LL.M from Harvard Law School. He been featured on ABC News, BBC News, Bloomberg News, Financial Times, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, and South China Morning Post as an expert on intellectual property and internet law. His works have been cited by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, UK High Court of Justice, the US International Trade Commission, and the European Union (in a WTO dispute-settlement case).
Wilson Lui is part-time Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, currently convening the private international law course, and PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne Law School. He holds an LLM from the University of Cambridge and an MPhil from the University of Oxford. His publications include a forthcoming monograph Hong Kong Private International Law (Hart Publishing, 2024), two edited books – Choice of Law and Recognition in Asian Family Law (Hart Publishing, 2023) and Direct Jurisdiction: Asian Perspectives (Hart Publishing, 2021) – and more than 15 book chapters and journal articles. He is a Chartered Linguist and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators (FHKIArb) and Advance HE (FHEA).
Kingsley Ong is a Partner at international law firm, CMS Cameron McKenna, based in Hong Kong. He is a Hong Kong Notary Public and Solicitor, a Barrister and Solicitor-Advocate of England & Wales, and an Advocate & Solicitor of Singapore. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators (FHKIArb), and actively sits as an Arbitrator. He is the only lawyer in Asia recognised as a leading lawyer by independent legal directories in 5 categories (Banking & Finance, Structured Finance, Securitisation, Derivatives, Restructuring & Insolvency), across 3 jurisdictions (Hong Kong, India, South Korea). Kingsley has been described as: “a master of his craft” (Legal 500, 2024), “subject matter expert” (Chambers 2024), “brilliant strategic mind” (Chambers 2022), “pre-eminent practitioner” (Legal 500, 2020), “trusted adviser” (Chambers, 2020), “revered for his ability to advise on complex financial structures” (Chambers, 2017), “top-tier finance capability” (Legal 500, 2012), “extremely knowledgeable” (Legal 500, 2013), “very unique and rare” (Legal 500, 2012), “truly understands how the derivatives and securitisation markets work” (Legal 500, 2014). His published opinions have been cited as authority in the US Court (Lehman Brothers Special Finance v Bank of New York, 2010), the Hong Kong Standing Committee on Company Law Reform, and leading textbooks.
Wesley is a partner in the Global International Arbitration Group of Eversheds Sutherland and he leads the firm’s international arbitration practice in Asia. Wesley has over 15 years of experience in advising private and sovereign clients on commercial and investor-State disputes under various institutional rules. He has particular expertise in energy sector and infrastructure project disputes in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He worked for several years with Shearman & Sterling LLP (now, A&O Shearman) in their New York, Paris and London offices. During this time he worked on some of the largest, most complex disputes in the world. Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland, Wesley was Managing Counsel at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). He led a team of in-house counsel handling the institution’s caseload under various HKIAC rules, UNCITRAL Rules and the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance. Wesley has authored publications and spoken widely on international arbitration. He is also a member of the Peer Review Board of the AIAC ADR Journal, a member of the International Advisory Board of the Journal of International Law of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, a member of the Nominations Commission of ICC-HK’s Arbitration & ADR Committee and a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of Hong Kong where he is the course convenor for the Arbitration Practice, Procedure & Drafting module (LLAW6157) for the LL.M in Arbitration & Dispute Resolution. Since 2023, he has served as a Visiting Lecturer of Peking University School of Transnational Law in which he co-convenes the course of Chinese International Arbitration: A Comparative Study. He is admitted to practise law in New York and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer (New York, USA) in Hong Kong.

Jin is recognised in Chambers and Partners 2021 as a “practical, meticulous and user-friendly” and praised for his “perfect advocacy skills”. He actively accepts instructions in a broad spectrum of civil commercial matters, where he has a particular interest in cases with international dimensions. He also has significant experience in constitutional and administrative law, human rights and judicial review cases generally. Jin has also been instructed as an expert witness on Hong Kong law in proceedings in the BVI, Canada and the United States.

Professor of Law at University of Toulouse – Capitole, Lukas Rass-Masson is specialised in private international law and international commercial law, with a focus also on European and global private law, civil law, and family law. He is vice-president of the University of Toulouse, in charge of resources and institutional transformation. He previously served as Director of the European School of Law Toulouse (2018-2023), after having hold positions as maître de conference at University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (2016-2017) and as legal officer at the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference (2013-2014). His current research focuses on the methodology of European private law and global private international law, especially in an Asian-European perspective.
Professor Song Xiao is currently a Full Professor of Law in Nanjing Universsity, where he teaches private international law, international commercial arbitration, and international litigation. He was a visiting scholar in Duke University. He earned his PhD from Wuhan University. Prof. Song is the council member of China Society of Private international law, and an arbitrator both in the Nanjing Arbitration Commission and China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. He has published multiple siginificant books and journal articles in core Mainland China academic journals.

Dr Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit is a Lecturer in Maritime Law at the Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania. He is also a Senior Research Associate within the Research Centre for Private International Law in Emerging Countries, University of Johannesburg. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is on the Panel of Arbitrators of Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC) and of the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA). He is also on the Panel of Arbitrators and the Panel of Neutrals under eBRAM APEC Rules of the eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre. His research interests lie in commercial conflict of laws (private international law), insurance law (marine and non-marine), carriage of good by sea, international sale of goods carried by sea, private aspects of admiralty and maritime law, and aspects of international arbitration. His recent publications include: Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit, ‘Blockchain-based bills of lading and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records: questions of compatibility’ in Rishi Gulati, Thomas John, and Ben Köhler (eds), The Elgar Companion to UNCITRAL (Edward Elgar 2023) 525; Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit and Krisda Saengcharoensap, ‘Thailand’ in Kazuaki Nishioka (ed), Treatment of Foreign Law in Asia (Hart Publishing 2023) 239.

Zheng (Sophia) TANG is Professor of Law, Wuhan University Law School, China. She is also the Associate Dean of Wuhan University Academy of International Law and Global Governance, a Top Think-Tank in China. Before joining Wuhan University, she worked as a Chair of Law and Commerce at the Newcastle University, UK. Professor Tang is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Transnational Law, published by SAGE. She is an editor of conflictoflaws.net, one of the most influential websites of private international law in the world. She is also an advisory board member of the Journal of Private International Law. She is the external expert of the European Commission DG Justice Judicial Cooperation Program, and the Marie Curies Actions, and the Polish National Sicence Centre. She has authored more than 50 articles in top-ranking international journals, and published 5 monographs by internationally reputable publishers like Hart, EEL, Routledge, and CUP. She is one of the author of the Cheshire, North and Fawcett: Private International Law (15th ed.), a leading text in the world.

Dr. Dicky Tsang is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His main research areas are private international law and company law. His work has appeared in a number of leading international journals, including the Virginia Journal of International Law, the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law and multiple articles in the Journal of Private International Law. His works have been cited by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Missouri, and the European Union (in a WTO dispute-settlement case).

Prior to joining academia, he practised as a corporate finance lawyer at Linklaters and Shearman & Sterling, working in their New York, London, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai offices. He is admitted to practice in the state of New York, England & Wales and Hong Kong.

Dr. Tsang was awarded his LL.B. and PCLL at the University of Hong Kong. He also holds degrees from Georgetown University (S.J.D.), Columbia University (LL.M., J.D.) and University College London (LL.M.).

Prof. Dr. Guangjian Tu is currently a Full Professor of Law, University of Macau, a life member of Clare Hall (Cambridge University), an elected associate member of the International Academy of Comparative Law and a Standing Member of the Chinese Society of Private International Law and also a Standing Member of the Association of Great China Judicial Studies. He is an editor for Chinese Journal of International Law and the global blog of www.conflictoflaws.net and regularly invited to review papers by international journals. He formally started his academic career at the University of Macau in September 2007. Since then, he has been teaching and researching in the field of Private International Law, especially Chinese inter-regional conflict of laws. So far, he has published three monographs and tens of academic articles in widely-circulated international journals and the core Mainland China academic journals.

Dr. Abubakri Yekini is a Law Lecturer at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. He earned his PhD from the Centre for Private International Law, University of Aberdeen, under the supervision of Professor Paul Beaumont and the late Professor Jonathan Fitchen. Dr. Yekini was a Visiting Scholar at Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European, and Regulatory Procedural Law in 2019. He was also recently awarded the Schumann Fellowship for Young Scholars by the University of Munster, Germany for 2021/2022. His current research focuses on the progressive development of private international law in Africa. He is one of the founding members of the Nigeria Group on Private International Law (NGPIL). Dr Yekini is an Assistant Editor for the Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law. He is the author of The Hague Judgments Convention and Commonwealth Model Law: A Pragmatic Perspective (Hart Publishing, 2021).
 
Professor Yuan Faqiang is currently a Full Professor in East China University of Political Science and Law. He also served as deputy editor of Law Science and arbitrator in Shanghai International Arbitration Center and China Maritime Arbitration Commission. Prof. Yuan is also an Executive Director of the China Society of Private International Law and China Maritime Law Association. He holds a PhD in International Law from Wuhan University and a Post-PhD in Constitutional Law from East China University of Political Science and Law. So far, He has published 5 academic monographs, 2 translated worksover, 50 papers in various legal journals and magazines and edited 6 textbooks.
Dr Zhang is an Associate Professor at Renmin University of China Law School. His research interests focus on private international law. His past research mainly relates to the issues on transnational litigation in China, ranging from international jurisdiction, conflicts rules, interim remedies and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. His works appear in internationally renowned publishers, including Kluwer Law International and peer – reviewed journals such as the Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Yearbook of Private International law, Chinese Journal of International Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Asia Pacific Law Review and Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht (RabelsZ).