A law unto themselves: the Chinese government has acknowledged that corruption in the judiciary is a serious problem

There is a continuing struggle between the demand of a market economy for judicial efficiency, impartiality, and professional conduct on the one hand, and the resistance of the traditional ideology to judicial reform, on the other. The current discipline campaign, as a temporary movement, will undoubtedly reduce the incidence of corruption scandals and result in the punishment of violators over a short period. The tougher job, nevertheless, is to reform the current system by introducing a supervisory scheme thai will deter and deal with abuses effectively in the long run. This will improve the quality of the entire judiciary and further develop true judicial independence in China. In terms of the big picture, the upgrading of judicial performance will not be achieved in isolation, but to a large degree, depend on the progress of the rule of law in China.published_or_final_versio

Practical demands to update the company law

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A profession reborn: the enactment of the PRCs new lawyers law is a major step forward in the restoration of the Chinese legal profession

On 15 May 1996, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress enacted the first legislation specifically tailored for lawyers within the PRC, entitled the Law on Lawyers of the PRC (the Law). It will come into effect on the 1 January 1997 and replaces the outdated Interim Regulations on Lawyers of 1980. The enactment represents an ideological breakthrough after seven years of drafting and several serious discussions among the top leaders of China. In addition, it sets the stage for the further development of the legal profession in China.published_or_final_versio

The Keeneye Case: Rethinking the Content of Public Policy in Cross-border Arbitration between Hong Kong and Mainland China

A recent decision of the Hong Kong Court of Appeal in Gao Haiyan v. Keeneye Holdings Ltd considers public policy-based procedural objections in the context of enforcement of a mainland China arbitration award that was made following the hybrid process of mediation and arbitration (med-arb). This article attempts to decipher what this case means to Hong Kong and the cross-border arbitral relations. What has changed in the playing field of public policy in the enforcement of arbitral awards in Hong Kong and what can parties expect of Hong Kong courts on public policy issues in treating Mainland arbitral awards after the Keeneye case? In light of the rising use of med-arb procedures, this article studies particularly the novel issue of public policy of enforcing med-arb awards, and analyses how the different legal practices in Hong Kong and mainland China may cause much uncertainty in the cross-border enforcement arena. It is revealed that even after unification for more than 15 years there are legal as well as ideological conflicts between the two sides. Although the Keeneye case may have, on the one hand, lowered the predictability of outcome in cases which involve a cross-border clash in ideology in the enforcement of arbitral awards, it has simultaneously acted as a catalyst in reducing such differences, as seen from the rapid Mainland reform to the rules on med-arb. In the long run, a potentially more credible Chinese arbitration system is expected to be built upon and in the course of its improvement, understanding from the Hong Kong side will be helpful for the healthy development of a cross-border arbitration scheme.published_or_final_versio

The Extraterritorial Service of Judicial Documents from Hong Kong

The return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty brings new development opportunities to the newly established Special Administrative Region (SAR) and, at the same time, poses many challenges. A legal vacuum currently exists in the service of judicial documents in civil and commercial matters and this has disrupted service arrangements between the mainland and Hong Kong since 1988. Indeed, this problem and other related issues have been studied by scholars, government officials, and practitioners for a number of years. However, thus far no formal arrangements have been made to resolve the matter although Art 95 of the Basic Law does allow Hong Kong and the judicial organs of other parts of the country, through consultation and in accordance with the law, to maintain judicial relations and to render mutual assistance. Following the recent discussions on judicial assistance between the Central Government and the Hong Kong SAR, this article examines the legal issues involved, and proposes some practical solutions to this uncertainty between the two sides, as well as between Hong Kong and other jurisdictions. The first section presents an introduction to the issues, the next discusses the current legal scheme and the conflicts therein; the following section addresses some suggestions advanced by scholars and practitioners. The remaining sections identify certain principles on which future solutions should be based, present proposals to resolve some current problems, and make some concluding remarks.published_or_final_versio

跨學科法學教育：發展中的理念與實踐

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The Agreement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong SAR on Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards: Problems and Prospects

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Mathematical Modelling and Experimental Evaluation of Electrostatic Sensor Arrays for the Flow Measurement of Fine Particles in a Square-shaped Pipe

Abstract—Square-shaped pneumatic conveying pipes are used in some industrial processes such as fuel injection systems in coal-fired power plants and circulating fluidized beds. However, little research has been conducted to characterise the gas–solid two-phase flow in a square-shaped pneumatic conveying pipe. This paper presents mathematical modelling and experimental assessment of novel non-restrictive electrostatic sensor arrays for the measurement of pulverised fuel flow in a square-shaped pipe. The sensor arrays consist of twelve pairs of strip-shaped electrodes, which are uniformly embedded in the four flat pipe walls. An analytical mathematical model of the sensor arrays is established and the induced charge and currents of different electrodes due to a point charge are then derived based on the model. Experimental tests were conducted on a 54 mm square-shaped pipe section of a pneumatic conveyor test rig under a range of flow conditions. The fuel velocity profile over the whole cross-section of the pipe is measured. Mathematical modelling and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed non-restrictive electrostatic sensor arrays are capable of characterising the local pulverised fuel flow in a square-shaped pneumatic conveying pipe. Index Terms—electrostatic sensor, square-shaped pipe, mathematical modelling, velocity profile, pulverised fuel

Electronic Raman Scattering On Individual Semiconducting Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

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Computer games: A double-edged sword?

Excessive computer game playing (ECGP) has already become a serious social problem. However, limited data from experimental lab studies are available about the negative consequences of ECGP on players' cognitive characteristics. In the present study, we compared three groups of participants (current ECGP participants, previous ECGP participants, and control participants) on a Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) task. The previous ECGP participants performed significantly better than the control participants, which suggested a facilitation effect of computer games on visuospatial abilities. Moreover, the current ECGP participants performed significantly worse than the previous ECGP participants. This more important finding indicates that ECGP may be related to cognitive deficits. Implications of this study are discussed. © 2008 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.published_or_final_versio