Eng · 繁體 · 简体

Dr CHEN, Lei

LLB (ECUPL)
LLB Honours (London)
LLM (Aberdeen)
LLD (Stellenbosch)
Elected Member of International Academy of Comparative Law
Fellow of Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators
Fellow of European Law Institute
Panel/Roster Arbitrator of Beijing Arbitration Commission

Associate Dean / Associate Professor

Dr CHEN, Lei

Contact Information

Office: P5415
Phone: +(852)-3442-7355
Email: leichen@cityu.edu.hk

Research Interests

  • Chinese Private Law (Contract, Property)
  • CISG
  • Chinese Legal history (Late Qing and the Republic eras in China)
  • Comparative Law (methodology, legal culture, legal transplant)

Research Funding

  • 2012, Principal Investigator, “Assessing Property Relations and Formalizing Condominium Ownership in China,” HK$ 495,472, General Research Fund (GRF), Hong Kong Government (RGC).
  • 2011, Co-investigator, China-EU Law School research grant, The Role of the Judge and the Parties in Civil Litigation, PI: C.H. van Rhee, HK$700,000
  • 2011, Co-investigator, China-EU Law School research grant, Contract Law in China and Europe: A Comparative Approach, PI: Jan Smits, HK$ 200,000
  • 2010, Principal Investigator, “Elements of Chinese Property Law”, HK$ 200,000, SLW research fund, City University of Hong Kong.
  • 2009, Principal Investigator, “The Mix and Mixing of Mortgage law in China”, HK$ 88,472, Startup research fund, City University of Hong Kong.

Representative Publications:

  1. Chen Lei& C.H. van Rhee (eds). Towards A Chinese Civil Code: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, 2012, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden and Boston. [BOOK review appear in European Business Organization Law Review]
  2. Chen Lei, The Making of Chinese Condominium Law, 2010, Intersentia, Cambridge, [book review by Li Bei, China-EU Law Journal, (Springer) 2011,(1), 125-129]
  3. Smits J, Han S., Chen Lei, Kornet, N (eds.), Contract Law – China and Europe Compared, Routledge, UK, (forthcoming under a contract)
  4. Chen Lei, Property Law in China, Kluwer Law International, (with M. Leung) forthcoming

Book Chapters:

  1. CHEN Lei, “The Legal and Institutional Analysis of Land Expropriation in China” in John Gillespie & Fu Hualing (eds), Resolving Land Disputes in East Asia, Cambridge University Press, 2014.
  2. CHEN Lei, “The Availability of Specific Performance in Chinese Contract Law” in Mindy Chen-Wishart and Alexander Loke (eds) Remedies for Breach in Asia, Oxford University Press, 2014.
  3. Peter Chan, David Chan & CHEN Lei, “Hong Kong”, in C.H. van Rhee (ed),  Essays on the Role of Judges and Parties in China and Europe, Springer, 2013.
  4. CHEN Lei, "Contextualizing Legal Transplant: China and Hong Kong" in P.G. Monateri (ed) Methods of Comparative Law, Elgar Edward, 2012.
  5. CHEN Lei, “100 Years of the Chinese Property Law: Looking Back and Thinking forward” and “Introduction” in CHEN L, & RHEE C.H. van (eds). Towards A Chinese Civil Code, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (Brill) Leiden 2012.
  6. CHEN Lei, "A Structural Analysis of Chinese Mortgage Law" in H Mostert & M De Waal (eds) Essays in Honour of CG van der Merwe, Lexisnexis 2011, 403;
  7. CHEN Lei & Samoy I., Avoidance of Contract in China and Europe, in SMITS (ed al) Contract Law-China and Europe Compared, (Routledge) 2014;
  8. SMITS J. & CHEN Lei, Historical and Legislative Background, in SMITS (ed al) Contract Law-China and Europe Compared, (Routledge) 2014
  9. CHEN Lei, “Hong Kong report”, in Jorge Sanchez Cordero (ed) Legal Culture and Legal Transplants, Universidad NacionalAutónoma de México Press, 2013, 369-384; [also published at “Legal Culture and Legal Transplants: Hong Kong Report” (2011) 2 ISAIDAT Law Review].

Journal Articles:

  1. CHEN L & M. Kielsgard, “EvolvingProperty Rightsin China: Patterns and Dynamics of Condominium Governance” The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law, (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2013)
  2. CHEN L, "The historical development of the Civil Law tradition in China: a private law perspective", Tijdschrift Voor Rechtsgeschiedenis-Revue d Histoire du Droit -the Legal History Review, 78(1-2), 2010, pp 159-181. (SSCI & AHCI)
  3. CHEN L & C G. van der Merwe, "Reflections on the role of the managing agent in South African and Chinese sectional title (condominium) legislation", Tydskrifvir die Suid-AfrikaanseReg (Journal of South African Law), 2009, Issue 1, p 22-38. (SSCI)
  4. CHEN L, "The Developer’s Role in the Surging Chinese Condominium Housing: Through the Comparative Lens of the US System", Asia Pacific Law Review, 18(2), 21 2010, pp 223-242. (SSCI)
  5. Mostert H. & CHEN L, "The Dynamics of Constitutional Property Clauses in the Developing World: China and South Africa", Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 17(4) 2011, pp 377-405.
  6. CHEN L, "Private Property with Chinese Characteristics: A Critical Analysis of the Chinese Law on Property of 2007", European Review of Private Law, 18(5), Fall 2010, pp 983-1004.
  7. CHEN L. “Pure Economic Loss: Can Common Law System Shed Some Light?” (2010) 5 Tsinghua Law Journal (QINGHUA FAXUE/清华法学)106-117.
  8. CHEN L "The New Chinese Property Code: A Giant Step Forward?" (2007) 11:2 EJCL (succeeded by European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance by Brill).
  9. CHEN L "The Unavoidable Necessity of Formalizing Condominium Ownership in China: A Pilot Study" with H Mostert (2007) 2 Asian Journal of Comparative Law 62-88.

Book Reviews:

  1. Marie Seong-Hak Kim, Law and Custom in Korea, Cambridge University Press, 2012, Comparative Legal History (Hart) 2013.
  2. David Oser, The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: A Governing Law? by David Oser, MartinusNijhoff Publishers (2008) 12 Singapore Yearbook of International Law 357-358.

Work-in-progress / Under Review:

  1. “Whither Adverse Possession in Hong Kong?”
  2. “(De) regulating Auditor’s liability: What does EU approach mean for China?”
  3. “what state action amounts to expropriation?”
  4. specific performance in China.
  5. Assessing property Registry in Chna.

Professional Activities:

  1. Core Member of the Centre of Chinese and Comparative Law (RCCL), City University of Hong Kong
  2. Editorial board member: European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance (Brill)
  3. International Editorial board member: Comparative Legal History (Hart)
  4. Regular Stipendium Visitor of Hamburger Max-Planck-Institutsfürausländisches und internationalesPrivatrecht, Hamburg
  5. Elected member: l'Académieinternationale de droitcompare (IACL)
  6. Associate Member of the American Society of Comparative Law
  7. Postdoctoral fellow, 2008-2009, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore.