Seminar on SMEs and Cross-border Dispute Resolution with Professor Petra Butler

On 21 November, CityUHK School of Law (SLW) had the honour of welcoming Professor Petra BUTLER, Executive Dean at the Faculty of Law, University of Canterbury, for a seminar on dispute resolution as a resilience mechanism. The session was moderated by Professor FANG Meng Mandy, Assistant Professor of SLW.

As the Director of the Institute of Small and Micro States (ISMS), Prof. Butler shared profound insights in her analysis of the dispute resolution reality of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) trading cross-border. A lack of awareness, reliance on trust over contracts, and avoidance of legal advice due to cost are some common key issues in these international transactions.

Prof. Butler then explored how a dispute resolution mechanism should be designed to provide SMEs - key drivers of innovation, job creation, and economic resilience and growth, especially in developing countries - with a more streamlined, cost-effective, and predictable means of resolving disputes, thereby enabling them to realise their full potential as major contributors to the global economy.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Butler for the inspiring presentation and to the audience for their participation throughout the session.