Lord Sales, Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, delivered the latest lecture in the HKU-Temple Chambers Law Lecture Series on 24 September 2026.

The Role of Equity in the Law of Contract

”, the lecture addressed the distinct moral foundations of contract law and Equity, and how the two interact. The opening remarks were delivered by Professor Hualing Fu, Dean of the HKU Faculty of Law, and 

Held at the University of Hong Kong, the event welcomed nearly 300 attendees including members of the judiciary, legal practitioners, professors, and law students. The Honourable Mr Justice Eugene Fung, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court and a former member of Temple Chambers, moderated the lecture.

We extend our sincere thanks to our co-sponsor, The University of Hong Kong, to Lord Sales and our other speakers for their contributions, and to everyone who attended and supported the event.

The Hong Kong Mediation Lecture, presented jointly by the Department of Justice and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, is a highlight of Hong Kong Legal Week. This year's lecture took place on 5 November 2026. After Welcome Remarks from the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam SC, 

Upholding Standards for the Global Capital of Mediation Inside and Outside the Courts: HKMAAL's Journey and Evolving Role

As a Council Member of the Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited (HKMAAL) and Chairman of its Appointments Committee, Queenie traced HKMAAL's history and recent developments. These include the Mediation (Amendment) Bill 2026, which has been introduced to the Legislative Council. In certain circumstances, the Bill would allow HKMAAL to decide how many mediators there should be and/or to appoint them. This would apply when a party to an agreement to mediate applies and the parties cannot agree, or the agreed appointment procedure hasn't been followed. The Bill shows how important HKMAAL's role in Hong Kong is becoming.

Huarong Huaqiao Asset Management Co Ltd v Li Xiaopen

, where the Court considered whether a Hong Kong court could enforce a Civil Mediation Certificate issued by a Mainland court to record a settlement. Different jurisdictions have treated these certificates differently, but in Hong Kong they appear to be enforceable as judgments. Where s.5(2)(a) to (e) are satisfied, parties should arguably seek enforcement under the Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 596). This is because s.22(2) bars common law proceedings to recover sums payable under a Mainland judgment.

Finally, Queenie addressed how mediation and arbitration interact, a topic that has drawn recent community debate about med-arb, arb-med and arb-med-arb. She discussed the benefits and challenges of one person acting as both arbitrator and mediator, particularly around confidential information.

With an excellent attendance in person and online, the Mediation Lecture was a good opportunity for practitioners from many different backgrounds to come together to consider various aspects of mediation as Hong Kong continues to build on its culture of mediation.

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Lord Sales delivers the 2026 HKU-Temple Chambers Law Lecture

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