The Right Honourable the Lord NEUBERGER of Abbotsbury, GBS visited CityU School of Law
On 14 November 2023, we were honoured to have The Right Honourable the Lord NEUBERGER of Abbotsbury, GBS, to visit the School of Law, City University of Hong Kong and hold a fireside Chat followed by a plentiful Q&A session with our students. This event was attended by over 70 participants. It was moderated by Prof. LOKE Alexander F H and Prof. Noam ZAMIR. Lord NEUBERGER was the President of the United Kingdom Supreme Court in 2012 and was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2018. He now serves as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.
President Freddy BOEY and Dean of School of Law, Professor LIN Feng, received the Lord NEUBERGER and his wife, Ms. Angela HOLDSWORTH.
The fireside chat kickstarted with an introduction of Lord NEUBERGER by Prof. Noam ZAMIR. In Prof. LIN Feng's opening remarks, he recognized Lord NEUBERGER’s great achievements. And ensure the judicial independence of Hong Kong by quoting from his Lordship “At the moment I detect no undermining of judicial independence [in Hong Kong]. If I felt that the independence of the judiciary in Hong Kong was being undermined then I would either have to speak out or I would have to resign as a judge.”
Lord NEUBERGER shared his journey from being an investment banker with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, then became a barrister and appointed as a Judge, and shared the most memorable case in his career.
Lord NEUBERGER then answered questions from our law students under the moderation of Prof. Alexander LOKE. His Lordship gave advice on how to improve legal drafting skills, is to practice, and legal documents should be clear and simple. And discussed the strengths of the common law system in the UK and Hong Kong and also shared his views on the pros and cons of using AI.
His Lordship ended his fireside chat by sharing his views on same-sex couples’ rights in Hong Kong.
In the evening, Lord Neuberger joined the dinner with Prof. Chun-Sing LEE, Provost and Deputy President of City University of Hong Kong. Mr. C.M. CHAN, President of The Law Society of Hong Kong, Mr. Nick CHAN, MH, JP, Director of AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre and Mr. WONG Chat Chor, Samuel, Council Member of Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators also attended the dinner.
英國阿伯茨伯裡的廖柏嘉勳爵(Lord NEUBERGER) 於2023年11月14日訪問香港城市大學法律學院，並與學生進行爐邊談話。 本次活動約有七十多人參加，由陸飛鴻教授及Noam ZAMIR教授主持。
廖柏嘉勳爵於2012年出任英國最高法院院長，並於2018年獲頒金紫荊星章，現擔任香港終審法院非常任法官。
香港城市大學校長梅彥昌教授和法律學院院長林峰教授接待廖柏嘉勳爵及其夫人Angela HOLDSWORTH女士
爐邊談話由Noam ZAMIR 教授對廖柏嘉勳爵進行介紹展開。 林峰教授在開幕致詞中引用勳爵閣下的話來肯定香港的司法獨立。 廖柏嘉勳爵分享了他從主修化學畢業後任職投資銀行，再到成為大律師並任命為法官的歷程，並分享了他職業生涯中最難忘的案例。
隨後，廖柏嘉勳爵在陸飛鴻教授的主持下回答了法律學院學生的提問。勳爵閣下就如何提升法律起草技巧給了建議： 多實踐，法律文件應要清晰簡潔。 並與學生討論了英國和香港普通法制度的優勢，及分享了他對使用人工智能的看法。最後，勳爵閣下分享了他對香港同性伴侶權利的看法來結束爐邊談話。
晚上，廖柏嘉勳爵與香港城市大學首席及常務副校長李振聲教授共進晚宴。香港律師會會長陳澤銘先生、 亞非法協香港區域仲裁中心主陳曉峰先生，MH， JP以及香港仲裁師協會理事王則左先生亦受邀出席晚宴。