professor-yu-chen
Professor YU Chen
Assistant Professor

Contact Information

Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building – 6208
(852) 3442 7638
chenyu@cityu.edu.hk

Research Interests

  • International Investment Law
  • International Trade Law
  • International Adjudication
  • International Relations
  • Interdisciplinary and Empirical Research
  • Energy Regulation
CityU Scholar

Professor YU Chen’s research interests include international investment and trade law, international dispute settlement, interdisciplinary and empirical research of law, and energy regulation. Prior to joining CityU, she was a postdoc research fellow at the National University of Singapore. She obtained her PhD and LLM (thesis) degrees from McGill University, and Bachelor of Economics & Bachelor of Laws dual degrees from Nankai University.

Publications:

Monograph

Chen YU, Dispute Settlement and the Reform of International Investment Law: Legalization Through Adjudication (August 2023, Edward Elgar).

Reviewed in:

Articles in peer-reviewed journals

  • Chen YU, "The Risk of Investor-State Arbitration Arising from Renewable Energy Subsidy Schemes: A Caveat for Asian Countries” (forthcoming) Asian Journal of WTO & International Health Law and Policy”
  • Yawen Zheng & Chen Yu, “Cancelling oil and gas licensing rounds is not riskless: possible treaty violations and their mitigation”, Journal of International Dispute Settlement (2025) 16:4, https://doi.org/10.1093/jnlids/idaf054
  • Chen YU, “The uneasy delegation: conditional judicialization of international investment dispute settlement”, (2025) Journal of International Dispute Settlement 16:2, 1-12. [open access]
  • Chen YU, “Disentangling Legal Stability from Legitimate Expectations: Towards Greater Deference to Regulatory Changes in Renewable Energy Transition Policies in Investment Arbitration” (2025) World Trade Review 24:1, 101-119. [open access]
  • Chen YU, “International adjudication as interactional law-making: the incorporation of fair and equitable treatment elements in investment treaties”, Journal of International Economic Law (2024) 27:2, 259-277. [open access]
  • Chen YU, ‘The “Externality” of Joint Interpretations on Investment Law Jurisprudence: Learning from the Past’ (2023) The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, 22:1, 194-218.
  • Chen YU, ‘Towards a Three-tiered Ombuds System for Investment Dispute Prevention: Principles and Challenges’ (2022) Asia Pacific Law Review, 30:2, 401-423.
  • Chen YU, “Advancing Predictability via a Judicialized Investment Court? A Fresh Look Through the Lens of Constructivism” (2022) Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 13:3, 370-392. [open access]
  • Chen YU, “Amicus Curiae Participation in ISDS: A Caution Against Political Intervention in Treaty Interpretation” (2020) ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal, 35:1-2, 223-235.
  • Chen YU, “Currency Manipulation and WTO Laws: Should the Anti-Dumping Mechanism Be Entirely Dumped?” (2019) the Journal of World Investment & Trade 20:6, 891-915.

Articles in US law journals

  • Chen YU & Yawen ZHENG, “Pluralizing International Investment Law for Energy Transition” (forthcoming) Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (2026)
  • Chen YU, “Taking Stock of Investor-State Disputes Involving Energy Transition” Minnesota Journal of International Law (2026) Volume 35 Issue 2 [open access] 

Book chapters

  • “The Role of National Courts in International Trade Law” in The Oxford Handbook of International Trade Law in Asia (forthcoming, OUP) (editors: Julien Chaisse, Georgios Dimitropoulos, Han-Wei Liu, and Intan Murnira Ramli) (with Xueji Su)
  • “Legal Reasoning Beyond Binaries: AI and the Fuzziness of Principles”, co-author with Fabien Gélinas, (forthcoming) in Artificial Intelligence Governance: Exploring the Public Policy and Legal Landscape (Michael Tsimplis & Chandra Yanto eds, Edward Elgar).
  • “Annulment of Arbitration Awards in Hong Kong”, co-author with Yueming Yan, (forthcoming) in Annulment of Arbitral Awards (Franco Ferrari, Julio César Rivera (h), Friedrich Rosenfeld edits, Kluwer).

Book reviews

  • “Abdulkadir Yilmazcan, Improving Procedural Justice in Anti-Dumping Investigations: Lessons from the US and EU Practices Against China. Cambridge University Press, 2024.” Journal of World Investment & Trade
  • “Intellectual Property Objectives in International Investment Agreements by UPRETI Pratyush Nath, Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham, UK, 2022” Asian Journal of International Law.

Blog posts

“Global Perspectives on Teaching International Investment Arbitration”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog.

Awards:

  • Outstanding teaching performance in Sem B 2025/26 (5% of teachers at CityUHK of the semester)
  • Outstanding Reviewer Award by Journal of World Investment & Trade (2026)
  • CityU School of Law Outstanding Research Award (2023)
  • 2022 David D. Caron Prize, American Society of International Law

Professional Membership

  • Member of Advisory Board, American Society of International Law, International Law & Social Science Interest Group
  • Member, Academic Forum on ISDS