Five law students receive recognition for outstanding law reform essays

The following is issued on behalf of the Law Reform Commission:
      
     Five law students received recognition for the high quality of their essays at the Law Reform Essay Competition 2018 Certificate Award Ceremony today (July 26).

     Running for its fifth year, the competition was organised by the Law Reform Commission (LRC) to raise law students' awareness of the importance of law reform and to give them an opportunity to consider and propose how a given area of Hong Kong law may be reformed.

     Officiating at the ceremony, the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, also Chairman of the LRC, said the competition has become an annual event of the LRC to help foster among law students an awareness of law reform and in particular the complexity of the legal and socio-economic implications it would entail.

     This year's topic is "Should ride-hailing services be regulated in Hong Kong? If so, why and how?  If not, why not?". This new global phenomenon growing out of technological advances in recent years has brought us convenience, as well as new legal and regulatory issues. They include, for example, characterisation of the legal relationship between the platform and the drivers, liability of the drivers, liability of the platform, current regulatory regime, consumers' interest and protection and the need for new regulatory requirements as prompted by advances in technology and changes in human activities. In this year's competition, a total of 36 essays were received.

     The LRC has been playing an important role in the development and promotion of effective law reform in the context of administration of justice. Changes brought by the global wave of technology advances have highlighted the importance of ensuring that the law is up-to-date and able to serve our ever-evolving society.

     The five winners, who are studying law programmes at the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the City University of Hong Kong, were each awarded a one-month or two-month attachment this summer with a leading law firm, a barristers' chambers, a commercial corporation or the Department of Justice.

     During the ceremony, Ms Cheng congratulated the five winners for their well-argued and well-drafted essays, and thanked the adjudicating panel, as well as sponsoring law firms, barristers' chambers and a commercial corporation for their valuable support in offering internships as prizes for the finalists.

     The five winning essays are available at LRC's website (www.hkreform.gov.hk/en/news/newsXML.htm?newsDate=20180308&selectedSubSection=2&jumpToDetails=y#newsDetails).