Ian Davies Professorship in Ethics

Whether a convicted person had a fair trial is one of the most difficult questions a criminal appeal court must determine.  This is partly because the meaning of ‘fair trial’ is disputed even amongst the most learned of jurists. In his writings, Professor Simon NM Young has identified three important though competing purposes behind the right to a fair trial: (i) ensuring reliable verdicts, (ii) enabling the defendant to make full answer and defence to the charge, and (iii) enhancing the repute and integrity of the administration of justice. The result of a case may well depend on what weight and priority is given to these purposes by the judge or judges deciding the matter.

Law, integrity, and professional ethics lie at the heart of Professor Young’s work as a scholar, teacher, and barrister.  In addition to thinking about questions of fair trial, Professor Young has explored many aspects of Hong Kong’s post-1997 constitutional order including national security laws, the judicial system, the electoral systems, and human rights in the criminal process.  Internationally, he is also known for his scholarship on using civil processes to achieve criminal law aims, particularly in the areas of bribery and corruption, money laundering, and recovery of the proceeds of crime.

As Deputy Director for Education and Development of Research Integrity, Professor Young trains new teachers who have joined The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and helps to promote the highest standards of research integrity.  He served as the Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Law from 2014 to 2023.  He is often invited to train law enforcement agents and prosecutors both locally and internationally and has worked with INTERPOL in conducting training on using digital evidence in criminal cases. In 2024, he was appointed a member of the Academy Management Committee of the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption and a member of HKU’s Human Research Ethics Committee.

In his practice, Professor Young has appeared as leading counsel in all levels of criminal courts in Hong Kong, and he has acted for both the government and defence in many significant criminal law and public law cases.  Legal practice has not only allowed theoretical knowledge to be applied but has also enriched his teaching and scholarship.

He has served as an editor-in-chief of the Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law (Brill) since 2013 and the general editor of Archbold Hong Kong (Sweet & Maxwell) since 2018. Professor Young’s books include The Cambridge Handbook of Foreign Judges on Domestic Courts (Cambridge University Press 2023), Media Law and Policy in the Internet Age (Hart 2017), The Integrity of Criminal Process (Hart 2016), Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (Cambridge University Press 2014), Electing Hong Kong’s Chief Executive (HKU Press 2010) and Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property (Edward Elgar 2009). 

Prior to joining HKU in 2001, Professor Young was a prosecuting counsel in the Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario. His law degrees are from the University of Cambridge and University of Toronto.