The Department of Justice announced today (October 8) that following an open recruitment exercise, Dr Yang Ling will take up the appointment as the Director of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Office. Dr Yang will take up the appointment on November 1. The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, welcomed the appointment.

     Commenting on Dr Yang's appointment, Mr Lam said, "Dr Yang is a recognised scholar in international legal and dispute resolution with extensive management experience, including from her time at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. I am confident that she will be able to lead the office to take forward the policy initiatives of developing Hong Kong as a capacity-building centre for legal talent in domestic, foreign and international law."

     The Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Office has been set up to serve as the co-ordinating body to take forward the establishment of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy set out in the 2023 Policy Address. The Office will also serve as the secretariat for the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Expert Committee, which has been established and formed by three advisory boards comprising eminent legal experts and scholars from renowned international, Mainland and local legal organisations, and universities as members. Members of the Expert Committee are appointed in their personal capacity, and the list of membership is set out in the Appendix.

     Capitalising on Hong Kong's bilingual common law system and international status, the Academy will regularly organise practical training courses, seminars, international exchange programmes and more to promote exchanges among talent in regions along the Belt and Road. It will also provide training for talent in the practice of foreign-related legal affairs for the country, and nurture legal talent conversant with international law, common law, civil law and the country's legal system. This initiative will be conducive in consolidating Hong Kong's position as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

     A brief biographical note of Dr Yang is set out below:

     Dr Yang was admitted to the Chinese Bar in 2004 and currently holds the position of the Deputy Secretary-General and Head of China Relations of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). She obtained an LL.M. in International Law in 2006 and a PhD in 2009 from Wuhan University. Prior to joining the HKIAC in 2018, she was an Associate Professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law where she taught international arbitration for more than eight years. In addition, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Aix-en-Provence Marseille III in 2008 and at Boston University School of Law in 2017. Dr Yang has published widely on issues of international dispute resolution and arbitration in China, and currently serves as Executive Editor-in-Chief for the Shanghai International Arbitration Review. She has also been appointed as an arbitrator.

Ends/Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Issued at HKT 11:30

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