活動
CUHK LAW Greater China Legal History Seminar Series – ‘Chinese Customary Marriages and Concubinage in Hong Kong’ by Prof. Steven Gallagher (Online)
2024年2月2日
12:30pm – 2:00pm
Online via ZOOM
Professor Steven Gallagher, CUHK LAW
Steven Gallagher is a Professional Consultant, Professor in Practice of Law (by courtesy), and Associate Dean (Academic & Student Affairs). Steven has taught various aspects of property law in England and Hong Kong. In 2013, Steven introduced the course, Principles of Art, Antiquities, Cultural Heritage and the Law to the LLM programme at CUHK LAW. In 2023, Steven introduced the course, Principles of Digital Technology and Law to the Juris Doctor programme. His academic work includes 10 books, and more than 100 academic articles and other pieces on topics associated with property.
For Hong Kong’s professional sector, Steven has contributed chapters and volumes for various professional works including Atkin’s Court Forms Hong Kong and Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong. He has also presented over 300 professional and academic seminars and conference papers. Steven’s research interests include the law affecting art, antiquities and cultural heritage, Chinese custom and law, legal history, property law, law and technology, and innovative ways to teach law. The latter includes using superhero films for problem based learning, flipped classrooms and digital learning initiatives promoting asynchronous and distance learning.
Steven has been widely quoted in newspapers and television reports regarding legal issues involving property law, digital technology and law, and art, cultural heritage and law. In 2023, Steven published the textbook, “Digital Technology and Law”. He is not a technologist.
Soon after the establishment of the British colony of Hong Kong in 1843, Chinese customs of marriage and concubinage were received into the law of Hong Kong as analogous to Christian marriage, at least for some purposes. This reception included express statutory recognition, for example in developments of the Marriage Ordinance in various iterations, and by judicial recognition in the common law, for example the extension of the presumption of advancement to include concubines and secondary wives. There were also issues with recognition of some customary relationships, for example the custom of buying and selling young girls as mui tsai or “little sisters”. Concerns about unacceptable customary practices, including but not solely because of concerns about the rights of women, eventually saw them restricted and most were effectively abolished by The Marriage Reform Ordinance (Cap. 178) on its implementation on 7 October 1971. However, there are still a number of cases before the courts of Hong Kong every year when the status of a party, or the mother or grandmother of a party, as the Kit Fat wife, the Tin Fong wife, a party to a Kim Tiu marriage, or as tsip or concubine will be central to the dispute. This seminar will consider how Chinese custom was recognised and is still recognised in the law of Hong Kong for certain relationships and the continued importance of this recognition.
Language: English
The Law Society of Hong Kong has awarded this seminar 1.5 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.
