INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
Lauterpacht Centre for International Law (LCIL), 5 Cranmer Rd and Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge warmly invite you to
A Special Lecture and Discussion
“On Immunity from Suit and PRC State Enterprises: Two Perceived Problems with Hong Kong Commercial Arbitration”
By Professor Anselmo T Reyes, former Judge in Hong Kong
2pm – 4pm / Monday 29 Oct 2012 in the Old Library, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law
Two recent decisions of the Hong Kong Court (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. FG Hemisphere Associates LLC (FACV Nos. 5, 6 & 7 of 2010 (8 June 2011) and The HUA TIAN LONG (No.2) [2010] 3 HKLRD 611) have dealt with questions of immunity from suit. FG Hemisphere concerned a claim of sovereign immunity; HUA TIAN LONG involved a claim of Crown immunity. As a result of the 2 decisions, there is now a widespread perception that Hong Kong is not an appropriate seat for the arbitration of disputes with PRC state enterprises. The latter (it is thought) would simply claim immunity from suit or execution on the basis of one or other or both of the 2 cases.
The talk will submit that this view is erroneous
A T Reyes was appointed as a Judge of the Court of First Instance on 15 September 2003. He holds an AB (Economics) from Harvard College and a BA (Law), LL.M and PhD (Law) from Cambridge University. He was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1985 and the Hong Kong Bar in 1986. In 1995 he was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore. He took silk in Hong Kong in 2001. Mr. Reyes stepped down as a Judge on 14 September 2012. He took up the position of Professor of Legal Practice at Hong Kong University on 1 October 2012. It is also his intention to practice as an arbitrator and as an advocate in arbitrations. Mr. Reyes is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, and a CEDR Accredited Mediator.
Dr. Markus W. Gehring,
LL.M. (Yale)
Dr jur. (Hamburg)
MA (Cantab)
Deputy Director, Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) Faculty of Law
University of Cambridge & University Lecturer, Faculty of Law
Senior Research Associate, Centre for Rising Powers
Department of Politics and International Studies
Fellow, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law
Fellow & DoS (Law), Hughes Hall
University of Cambridge
Fac Tel: +44 1223 330094
Col Tel: 334873
individual Fax: 761393
Email: mwg24@cam.ac.uk