Faculty Seminar ‘Reforming Land Law – Why Pragmatism Is More Important Than Principle’
On 23 April 2026, the CityUHK School of Law had the honour of hosting Professor Martin Dixon from the University of Cambridge to deliver a Faculty Seminar entitled “Reforming Land Law – Why Pragmatism Is More Important Than Principle”. The seminar brought together faculty members from the Schools of Law at The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and City University of Hong Kong, providing a platform for cross‑institutional academic exchange and discussion as part of CityUHK’s ongoing efforts to promote comparative and practice‑oriented dialogue on law reform. The seminar was moderated by Assistant Professor Alvin Hoi‑Chun Hung.
In his presentation, Professor Dixon reflected on the extensive body of work produced by the Law Commission of England and Wales since 1985, noting that relatively few major reforms have ultimately been implemented. He suggested that one contributing factor is an over‑reliance on abstract principle in law reform efforts. Drawing on examples of recent and unsuccessful reform initiatives, Professor Dixon emphasised that land law in common law systems is not a coherent body of rules derived from first principles, but rather a historically layered system shaped by legal practice. He argued that effective reform must therefore be pragmatic, responsive to local conditions, and grounded in the resolution of real problems, rather than driven by theoretical perfection or comparative idealism. The seminar prompted thoughtful discussion among participants on the challenges and practical realities of reforming land law across jurisdictions.
About the speaker:
Professor Martin Dixon KC (Hon) is Senior Professor of the Law of Real Property and Director of the Cambridge Centre for Property Law at the University of Cambridge, where he also serves as Head of the Department of Land Economy. A Visiting Professor at City University of Hong Kong, he is Editor‑in‑Chief of Conveyancer & Property Lawyer and co‑author of leading texts including Megarry & Wade: The Law of Real Property. His Modern Land Law is now in its 14th edition, and he has served as a consultant to the Law Commission of England & Wales and the United Nations.
2026年4月23日，香港城市大學法律學院榮幸邀請到英國劍橋大學的Martin Dixon 教授主講教員研討會，講題為「改革土地法：務實為何比原則更重要」。是次研討會匯聚了來自 香港大學、香港中文大學及香港城市大學法律學院的教員，為跨院校的學術交流與討論提供了良好平台，並匯聚來自不同院校的參與者，作為香港城市大學持續推動比較法及實務導向法律改革對話的一部分。本次研討會由洪凱晉助理教授主持。
在研討會中，Dixon 教授回顧了 英格蘭及威爾斯法律委員會 自1985年以來所發表的大量研究成果，並指出當中真正落實為重大法律改革的案例相對有限。他認為，其中一個原因在於法律改革過程過度依賴抽象原則。透過分析近期一些未能成功推行的改革例子，Dixon 教授強調，普通法制度下的土地法並非一套源自嚴密原則體系的統一規則，而是一個由法律實務與歷史層累而成的制度。因此，他指出有效的土地法改革必須採取務實取向，回應本地實際情況，並聚焦於解決真實而具體的問題，而非追求理論上的完美或比較法上的理想模式。是次研討會引發了與會者對不同司法管轄區土地法改革挑戰及其實際運作的深入討論。
關於講者：
Martin Dixon 教授為劍橋大學土地法資深教授，並擔任劍橋大學財產法研究中心主任及土地經濟系系主任。他同時為香港城市大學訪問教授，並為英國社會科學學院院士。
Dixon 教授是倫敦 Falcon Chambers 的學術研究員，亦為多個英國物業及衡平法相關專業協會的榮譽會員。他現任《Conveyancer & Property Lawyer》總編，並合著《Megarry & Wade：不動產法》及《Ruoff and Roper’s Law of Registered Conveyancing》等權威著作，其《Modern Land Law》一書現已出版至第十四版。他亦曾擔任英格蘭及威爾斯法律委員會及聯合國的顧問。