The Asian Legal History Association (ALHA) officially launched on 17 March at the CUHK Graduate Law Centre. Initiated by CUHK’s Faculty of Law, ALHA brings together 21 leading law schools and research institutes from 17 jurisdictions, marking a major step forward in strengthening global scholarship on legal history in general, and Asia’s rich and diverse legal heritage in particular.

Secretary for Justice in the HKSAR Government The Honourable Paul Lam Ting-kwok delivered the keynote address at the event. Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming offered welcome remarks, while Dean of Law Professor Xi Chao joined representatives of founding institutions to witness the launch of ALHA.

In his speech, Mr Lam emphasised how Hong Kong’s significant unique systematic strengths under “One Country, Two Systems” made it an ideal base for ALHA. He stressed that as the only common law jurisdiction within China, Hong Kong’s independent power of adjudication was of great importance: “Hong Kong courts continue to refer to precedents of other common law jurisdictions, and Hong Kong court cases have also been cited by overseas courts of other common law jurisdictions from time to time, which fully demonstrate the professional standard and international recognition of Hong Kong’s judicial system.”

In his remarks, Professor Lo added that CUHK’s role as standing Secretariat of the Association “reflects CUHK’s long-standing commitment to international academic engagement and our belief that universities have a responsibility not only to generate knowledge but also to sustain the institutional platforms through which knowledge can be shared, developed and translated into deeper understanding over time”.

ALHA is the first long-term institutional platform dedicated to deepening understanding of Asia’s diverse legal traditions and fostering sustained, cross-jurisdictional dialogue on legal history within Asia and beyond. The Association is poised to bring fresh perspectives to global legal history research, promote the inheritance and exchange of legal culture and catalyse scholarly collaboration across continents.