King's College London

Graduate Student, Law

Thesis Title: Legalised Impunity? The Problem of Private Military Companies as a Creation Law

About

Profile

Hin-Yan obtained a BA in Psychology from the University of Alberta, Canada in 2005 during which he was awarded the Jason Lang Scholarship. He then followed this up with a LLB (Hons.) from City University London in 2007. In 2008, he was awarded a Distinction on the LLM programme at University College London specialising in Human Rights Law. In the course of the LLM, he wrote a dissertation researching the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Private Military Company phenomenon, sparking his current research interests. He started his doctoral thesis in January 2009 under the supervision of Professor Penny Green and Dr Christopher Kinsey, and successfully completed the transfer to the PhD register in February 2010.

Hin-Yan’s other activities at the College include being the current Editor-in-Chief of the King’s Student Law Review (www.kslr.org.uk), being a researcher on the International State Crime Initiative, and as a member of the Research Ethics Panel for Law. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Research

Hin-Yan’s research focuses upon the modern Private Military Company (PMC) phenomenon. His thesis, entitled ‘Legalised Impunity? The Problem of the Private Military Company as a Creation of the Law’ attempts to argue first that there is in fact a disparity in the treatment of uniformed soldiers and armed PMC contractors in terms of responsibility and accountability under the law for analogous actions. His thesis then goes on to show that this disparity in treatment is a creation, rather than simply the effect, of the law. In doing so, Hin-Yan’s thesis aims to provide as an alternative vantage point from which to analyse the efficacy and appropriateness of recent attempts to subject PMCs to various forms of legal and pseudo-legal regulation, revealing potentially alarming developments at the intersection between private regulatory mechanisms and those created by the law.

Hin-Yan’s research is currently supported by the King’s Continuation Scholarship, the Social Sciences and Humanities Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship (Grant number: 752-2010-0444) awarded by the Government of Canada, and the Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction awarded by the Government of Alberta, Canada.

Furthermore, Hin-Yan has a strong interest in Human Rights, especially in relation to the freedom of speech, in Public International Law issues, and in Public Law. He also keeps abreast of the developments in psychology and has a growing interest in modern art.

Recent Publications and Conference Presentations

Peer-Reviewed Publications:

‘A “Right” to Manifest Religious Affiliation by Contracting States? Some Implications of the Grand Chamber’s Lautsi v Italy Decision’. Submitted to the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (June 2011).

‘Review of “War by Contract: Human Rights, Humanitarian Law and Private Contractors” edited by Francesco Francioni and Natalino Ronzitti (OUP 2011)’. [2011] 22(3) King’s Law Journal. Forthcoming.

‘Mercenaries in Libya: Ramifications of the Treatment of “Armed Mercenary Personnel” under the Arms Embargo for Private Military Company Contractors’. [2011] 16(2) Journal of Conflict and Security Law. In press.

‘Leashing the Corporate Dogs of War: The Legal Implications of the Modern Private Military Company.’ [2010] 15(1) Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 141-168.

‘Constitutional Entrenchment: Questions of Legal Possibility and Moral Desirability in the United Kingdom’ [2010] 1(2) City University of Hong Kong Law Review, 193-201.

‘Pornography as Protected Speech? The Margins of Constitutional Protection.’ [2009] 2 UCL Human Rights Review, 223-239.

‘The Constitutional Right to Express Hatred: A Comparative Analysis.’ [2009] 1 King’s Student Law Review.


Conference Presentations:

‘Legalised Impunity: Private Military Companies as a Problem of Law.’ University of Westminster Staff Research Seminar. London. 1st December, 2010.

‘Capturing Cerebrus: The Three-Headed Corporate Dog of War and Mercenary Law’. British Society of Criminology Annual Conference. Leicester. 11th-14th July, 2010.

‘Caging Cerebrus: Mercenary Law and the Three-Headed Corporate Dog of War’. King’s College London, Fourth Annual International Graduate Legal Research Conference. London. 15th-16th April, 2010.

‘Capturing Orthrus: The Two-Headed Dog of War and Schizophrenic Mercenary Law’. Evil, Law and the State: Issues in State Power and Violence Fourth Global Conference. Salzburg. 12th-14th March, 2010.

‘Caging Orthrus: Mercenary Law and the Two-Headed Dog of War’. School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Third Annual International Law Colloquium. London. 16th-17th January, 2010.

‘The Phoenix from the Flames: The Cyclical Nature of Institutions Involved in the Projection of Force and the Rivalry between the State and the Private Military Company’. King’s College London, Third Annual International Graduate Legal Research Conference. London. 2nd-3rd July, 2009.

Teaching and Employment Interests

Teaching:

Hin-Yan is currently a Visiting Lecturer in Public Law at the University of Westminster, and a Visiting Lecturer in Human Rights Law at King’s College London. He will also be running a Summer School Course at the College entitled: ‘International Human Rights Law: Current Issues’ slated to run between the 4th and the 22nd July.

His academic practice qualifications currently include the Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (GCAP) which he completed with merit at the King’s Learning Institute, and the Law Teacher’s Certificate Programme undertaken during his LLM at University College London. The Higher Education Academy has recognised his professional commitment to enhancing and supporting the student learning experience by making him an Associate (AHEA). In order to continue his interest in academic practice, he is currently enrolled in research-orientated Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice (PGDipAP) also at the King’s Learning Institute.

Employment:

Hin-Yan is always interested to pursue research projects in human rights and public international law generally and is currently a Research Assistant at the University of Surrey on a project to consider the role of the ICC in restraining the activities of PMCs.

He is also keen to build upon the editorial and academic publishing experience he has gleaned from leading the King’s Student Law Review and as a member of the Advisory Board to the Canadian Journal of Human Rights.

Contact Information