November 27, 2014

Understanding Asian legal systems the focus for Asian Law Forum

A multidisciplinary research group with a wide range of expertise in Asian law and policy has been established at the University of Wollongong’s School of Law.

With its founding members, the Asian Law Forum will apply a wealth of knowledge, experience and international insight to conduct research, particularly in the fields of business law, governance, law reform, religion and society.

Dean of Law Professor Warwick Gullett said, through the ALF, he hopes others will be able to gain a sophisticated understanding of Asian legal systems.

“Australia’s relationship with its Asian partners and the issues that underpin that relationship are consistently the subject of national news headlines. The ALF hopes to be a source of information and clarity on the complex systems that exist across the Asian region,” Professor Gullett said.

“Ultimately, the ALF aims to be a hub to foster innovative multidisciplinary research projects in Asia of relevance to Australia,” he said.

The ALF plans to disseminate its expertise through a range of activities, including regular symposiums and conferences, professional training, publications and lectures.

Connecting with legal scholars and practitioners in Australia and Asia and fostering collaboration is a key strategy of the forum. As is the transference of knowledge and the student experience.

“For students, we want to increase cross-cultural learning experiences, to further develop their skills and ability to engage in the increasingly globalised legal services market,” Professor Gullett said.

The ALF will host its inaugural symposium at UOW on 28 November. The symposium will see academics and practitioners discuss some key issues affecting the region, including investment agreements in ASEAN, Islamic finance, foreign direct investment regulation, and China’s economic development and its implications for the region.

The event will be attended by academics and practitioners from a range of disciplines, as well as dignitaries from Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Dustin Kuan-Hsiung Wang of the Graduate Institute of Political Science at the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.

Note to media: ALF members are available for comment on Asian legal systems and related issues as they arise. Interview and photo opportunities on 28 November during the inaugural ALF symposium can be arranged upon request.

Media contact: Jacqueline Wales, UOW Media and PR Officer, on jwales@uow.edu.au or +61 2 4221 4582.

Asian Law Forum members profiles

Dr Lowell Bautista
Dr Lowell Bautista has more than ten years experience in legal and policy research, litigation and consultancy. He is a lecturer at the UOW School of Law and a member of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS). His areas of research include territorial and maritime boundary issues in the Asia-Pacific, the South China Sea, Philippine maritime and territorial issues, maritime piracy and terrorism, international humanitarian law, underwater cultural heritage, and international environmental law.
E: lowell@uow.edu.au | P: +61 4221 4719

Dr Afroza Begum
Dr Afroza Begum is a Professor of Law at Islamic University (IU) in Bangladesh and is an Honorary Fellow at the UOW School of Law. Dr Begum is also a Sessional Academic at Macquarie Law School and University of Canberra Law School. Her teaching and research interests include international business law, public law and corporations law. Her work in these areas has been published widely, including in journals in the UK, Australia, the United States, the Netherlands, India and Bangladesh. Dr Begum is a former Member of the National Parliamentary Committee, The Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh.
E: afroza@uow.edu.au | P: +61 02 4221 4654

Dr Charles Chew
Dr Charles Chew is from Singapore. His research is focused on commercial or business law with an emphasis on finance and banking law and corporate law. He has also expertise and research interest in Australian and Asian consumer law which looks at the liability of manufacturers of defective goods that injure, maim or kill consumers. Dr Chew publishes extensively, and with a comparative approach, in both Australian and international law journals. In the past, he had practised in the areas of finance, banking and corporate law in Mallesons (now King and Wood Mallesons), Allens (now Allens Linklaters) and Westpac.
E: charles_chew@uow.edu.au | P: +61 4221 4379

Dr Gabriel Garcia
Dr Gabriel Garcia’s research interests focus on the fields of law and development, banking and finance law, corporations law, international economic law, intellectual property and traditional knowledge. He has a special interest in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions. He is a member of UOW’s Legal Intersections Research Centre (LIRC). Dr Garcia has worked as a corporate lawyer in Venezuela and served as the General Counsel of the Development Bank of Venezuela (BANDES). He completed his PhD in 2009 with a thesis on IMF Conditionality and Rule of Law: Exceptional Powers and Banking in Venezuela and Malaysia. He has also held positions with the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies and the Centre for Comparative Law and Development Studies for Asia and the Pacific.
E: ggarcia@uow.edu.au | P: +61 2 4221 4272

Professor Warwick Gullett
Professor Warwick Gullett’s primary research interests are in the fields of the international law of the sea, environmental law and marine policy. His work has been cited by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal, NSW Land and Environment Court and the South Australian Environment, Resources and Development Court. His current research projects are in the areas of offshore law enforcement and Indigenous rights in intertidal areas. He was appointed Dean of Law at UOW in 2012.
E: wgullett@uow.edu.au | P: +612 4221 3382

Dr Nadirsyah Hosen
Dr Nadirsyah Hosen, from Jakarta, Indonesia, is internationally known for his expertise on Shari'a and Indonesian law. He has a Bachelors degree (UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta), a Graduate Diploma in Islamic Studies, and Master of Arts with Honours (University of New England), as well as a Master of Laws in Comparative Law (Northern Territory University). He completed his first PhD (Law) at the University of Wollongong and a second PhD (Islamic Law) at the National University of Singapore.
E: hosen@uow.edu.au | P: +61 4221 4192

Associate Professor Jakkrit Kuanpoth
Associate Professor Jakkrit Kuanpoth wrote his PhD thesis at the University of Aberdeen. Professor Kuanpoth is the author of books, book chapters and articles on intellectual property, including the Patent Rights in Pharmaceuticals in Developing Countries (Edward Elgar, 2010) and Biotechnological Patents and Morality (IGI Global 2011). He has been a member of several committees in various countries, including Thailand, on intellectual property-related issues such as patents and pharmaceuticals, plant variety protection, geographical indications, biodiversity, trademarks and traditional medicines. He has been consulted by various agencies, such as the Ford Foundation, ICTSD, Oxfam, UNDP and WHO, on IP-related issues.
E: jakkrit@uow.edu.au | P: +61 4221 4302

Dr Ying Lin
Dr Ying Lin specialises in a number of areas of law, including foreign investment in China, contract law, litigation and arbitration in China. She is currently assisting Chinese corporations investing in Australia and listing on the Asian Pacific Stock Exchange. Dr Lin’s interests in research activities include legal systems, commercial law, intellectual property law and interdisciplinary issues related to legal, economic and cultural aspects as well as issues of China’s rapid economic growth.
E: ying_lin@optusnet.com.au | P: +612 4232 2800

Mr John Littrich
Mr John Littrich’s research interests include legal ethics, legal education, skills training and family law. Lawyers in Australia, a text Mr Littrich co-authored with Associate Professor Ainslie Lamb, has been used to teach legal ethics at UOW and other universities for a number of years. In 2014, John was appointed to the position of Discipline Leader: Clinical Legal Experience and Professional Engagement. Mr Littrich oversees the School’s internship and experiential learning programs, including the Malaysian Internship Program.
E: littrich@uow.edu.au | P: +61 4221 3730

Dr Sheikh Solaiman
Dr Sheikh Solaiman, from Bangladesh, teaches corporate law, international corporate governance, and international and Australian business law. His research interests include investor protection, corporate law, food safety law and criminal law in an Australasian context with a particular focus on Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Australia. Some of his research publications also address corporate law of the United States, United Kingdom and Canada in a comparative perspective. Dr Solaiman has successfully supervised doctoral theses concerning investment and corporate law in China and Saudi Arabia, and also food safety law in Bangladesh.
E: sheikh@uow.edu.au | P: +61 4221 3116