LL.M. Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
This seminar will explore recent developments regarding the interplay between infrastructure development, community well-being and conflict prevention through community engagement.
Speakers: Prof. Hoda Mahmoudi, Louisa Tsang, Dr. David A. Palmer and Shahla Ali
Moderator: Shahla Ali
Date: 2 April 2025
Time: 9:30am – 11:30am
Venue: CPD 3.04, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
For Registration, please click here.
About the Speakers:
Professor Hoda Mahmoudi is the editor of a recent volume on Infrastructure, Wellbeing and the Measurement of Happiness. She is the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland. The Chair is an endowed academic program that advances interdisciplinary examination and discourse on global peace. Previously, Dr. Mahmoudi was Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Northeastern Illinois University, where she was also a faculty member in the Department of Sociology.
Louisa Tsang joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the world’s second-largest multilateral development institution, in November 2021 to establish the Organizational Ombudsperson program. In her role within AIIB’s Office of the Ombudsperson, she offers independent, impartial, informal and confidential assistance in resolving conflicts and workplace issues, addresses career development concerns, and handles allegations of harassment and discrimination. Additionally, she monitors trends and emerging issues within the AIIB and advises senior management on strategies to enhance the workplace environment.
Dr. David A. Palmer is a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Hong Kong. He obtained his BA at McGill University, his PhD at EPHE (Paris PSL University), and was a postdoctoral fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. Palmer currently directs a series of major collaborative projects funded by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong SAR on the socio-cultural dimensions of the Belt and Road Initiative and leads a team investigating the social impacts of Chinese infrastructure projects overseas, and is developing approaches for stakeholder engagement and social risk management adapted to Chinese and local realities.
Shahla Ali is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean (International) at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law and Director of the LLM Program in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution. Her recent projects have centred on assessing the development of dispute prevention mechanisms in infrastructure development (RGC 17610921) and climate and legal risk mitigation (CRF C7030-24G). She has examined questions of governance, sustainable development and cross-border dispute resolution in the Asia Pacific and serves as a bilingual neutral (English/Chinese) with UN Funds, AIIB and the Energy Panel and with AAA/ICDR, HKIAC and SIAC.
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