Carole
J.
Petersen
Cades Foundation Professor of Law
Degrees
Postgraduate Diploma in Law of the People's Republic of China, University of Hong Kong, 1994
JD, Harvard Law School, 1984
BA, University of Chicago, 1981
Biography
After practicing law for five years (in New York City and Honolulu), Carole taught law in Hong Kong for 17 years. She served as the Director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Comparative and Public Law from 2001–2004 and assisted members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council to draft bills prohibiting discrimination. While in Hong Kong, Carole co-authored (with Jan Currie and Ka-Ho Mok) Academic Freedom in Hong Kong (Routledge 2006). She also co-edited (with Fu Hualing and Simon Young) National Security and Fundamental Freedoms: Hong Kong’s Article 23 Under Scrutiny (HKU Press 2005) and co-edited (with Randall Peerenboom and Albert H. Y. Chen) Human Rights in Asia: A Comparative Legal Study of Twelve Asian Jurisdictions, France, and the United States (Routledge 2006).
In the 2006-2007 academic year, Carole came to Hawaii as a Visiting Professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law. From September 2007–July 2021, she held a joint appointment in the Law School and the Matsunaga Institute for Peace, serving as the Matsunaga Institute’s Director (from 2007–2016) and as its Graduate Chair (from 2017–July 2021). In 2021, Carole became a full-time Professor in the Richardson School of Law, where she has served as Director of International Programs (from 2021-June 2024). She also advises JD students seeking the Certificate in International and Comparative Law and is a member the Pacific-Asian Legal Studies (PALS) program and UH Manoa’s Center for Chinese Studies.
Carole teaches International Law; International Protection of Human Rights; Comparative Law; Gender: Law and Conflicts; and Second-Year Seminar. Her research focuses on: (1) human rights in Hong Kong and the challenges of implementing “One Country, Two Systems” since reunification with China; and (2) the rights of women, the LGBT community, and persons with disabilities under international and domestic law. In 2021, Carole received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Hawaii Women Lawyers for her work on international human rights law.
Carole is a member of the American Society of International Law, and the American Branch of the International Law Association. She is currently serving as a member of the International Law Association’s Committee on the Protection of Persons at Sea.
Publications
Journal Articles, Book Chapters, and Essays
- The Impact of the Pandemic on Reproductive Autonomy and Gender Equality: Perspectives from the Sustainable Development Agenda, Law and Development Review (2024), available at: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ldr-2024-0011/html.
- Women’s Right to Equality and Reproductive Autonomy: The Impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 45(2) University of Hawai`i Law Review (2023), available at: https://hawaiilawreview.com/issue.
- Women’s Rights, Chapter in Holning Lau, David Law, and Alex Schwartz (eds), Oxford Handbook of Constitutional Law in Asia (Oxford University Press, 2023), available at: https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/55080/chapter-abstract/423003294?redirectedFrom=fulltext.
- CEDAW’s Impact in East Asia: Parts I and I1,Volume 4, No. 1 and No. 2, USALI Perspectives (Sept. 5, 2023), available at: https://usali.org/usali-perspectives.
- Window Dressing or Meaningful Constraint? The Role of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Hong Kong’s Legal System, 52(3) Hong Kong Law Journal 1031- 1056 (2022).
- Territorial Autonomy as a Tool of Conflict Resolution? Lessons from “One Country, Two Systems” in Hong Kong, Academia Sinica Law Journal, 2022 Special Issue 195-243 available, at: https://www.iias.sinica.edu.tw/publication_post/1379/9.
- Hong Kong’s Rights Reckoning: What We Can Expect from the Human Rights Committee, Volume 2, No. 24 USALI Perspectives (June 9, 2022), available at: https://usali.org/usali-perspectives-blog/hong-kongs-rights-reckoning.
- National Security Law in Hong Kong: Transforming “One Country, Two Systems” as a Model of Regional Autonomy, Chapter in Bui Ngoc Sun, Stuart Hargreaves, and Ryan Mitchell (eds), Routledge Handbook of Constitutional Law in Greater China (Routledge, 2022).
- Academic Freedom in the Shadow of Hong Kong’s National Security Law, in Fu Hualing and Michael Hor (eds), The National Security Law of Hong Kong: Restoration and Transformation (Hong Kong University Press, 2022) (co-authored with Kelley Loper).
- Legal Capacity and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: An Alternative Framework to Promote Law Reform in Hong Kong and Beyond, 16(2) The Journal of Comparative Law 692-713 (2021) (co-authored with Kelley Loper).
- Championing Constitutionalism in Difficult Times: The Enduring Works of Professor Albert HY Chen, review article, 51(3) Hong Kong Law Journal 1217-33 (2021).
- Human Rights and Sanctions: Lessons from Hong Kong, Volume 2, Number 5, USALI Perspectives (October 20, 2021) (available at: https://usali.org/usali-perspectives-blog/sanctions-and-human-rights-lessons-from-hong-kong).
- Hong Kong’s First Conviction for Incitement to Secession: What Role for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights? Volume 25, Issue 12, ASIL Insights (American Society of International Law, October 13, 2021 (available at: https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/25/issue/22).
- Wounded but Not Dead, Volume 1, Number 21 USALI Perspectives (May 6, 2021) (available at: https://usali.org/usali-perspectives-blog/wounded-but-not-dead).
- The Disappearing Firewall: International Consequences of Beijing’s Decision to Impose a National Security Law and Operate National Security Institutions in Hong Kong, 50 Hong Kong Law Journal 633-656 (2020).
- Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law: International Law and Institutions as Sources of Resilience, Chapter 13 (pp 231–249) in Cora Chan and Fiona De Londras (eds), China’s National Security: Endangering Hong Kong’s Rule of Law? (Hart/ Bloomsbury, 2020).
- Articulating Future Directions of Law Reform for Compulsory Mental Health Admission and Treatment in Hong Kong, 69 International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 101513 (2020) (co-authored with Daisy Cheung, Michael Dunn, Elizabeth Fistein, Peter Bartlett, John McMillan).
- Not an Internal Affair: Hong Kong’s Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination Under International Law, 49(3) Hong Kong Law Journal 883-904 (2019)
- Reproductive Autonomy and Laws Prohibiting “Discriminatory” Abortions: Constitutional and Ethical Challenges, 96 University of Detroit Mercy Law Review 605-626 (2019). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Prohibiting the Hong Kong National Party: Has Hong Kong Violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights? 48 Hong Kong Law Journal 789-805 (2018). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Big Data, Health Care, and International Human Rights Norms 11(1) Asia Pacific Journal of Health Law, Policy & Ethics 1-22 (December 2017). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Academic Freedom and Critical Speech in Hong Kong: China’s Response to Occupy Central and the Future of ‘One Country, Two Systems,’ 42 North Carolina Journal of International Law 665-727 (2017) (co-authored with Alvin Y. H. Cheung). HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace
- Promoting the Rights of Older Persons: Addressing Adult Guardianship and Substituted Decision-Making in Health Care, 10(1) Asia Pacific Journal of Health Law, Policy & Ethics 41-70 (2016). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- International Law and the Rights of Gay Men in Former British Colonies: Comparing Hong Kong and Singapore, 46 Hong Kong Law Journal 109-129 (2016). HeinOnline
- Addressing Violations of Human Rights in Forensic Psychiatric Institutions: Philosophical and Strategic Debates, Proceedings of the One Hundred Ninth annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law 80-3 (2016). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Eradication of Child Sex Trafficking: the International Perspective, in Katherine Lynch and Anne Scully-Hill (eds), International Perspectives on Disputes About Children and Child Protection, Volume II, pp. 103–33 (Chinese University of Hong Kong Press 2015).
- Sex Work, Migration, and the United States Trafficking In Persons Report: Promoting Rights or Missing Opportunities for Advocacy? 25 Indiana International & Comparative Law Review 115 (2015). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Reproductive Justice, Public Policy, and Abortion on the Basis of Fetal Impairment: Lessons from International Human Rights Law and the Potential Impact of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 28 Journal of Law and Health 121 (2015). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Equal Opportunities Law Reform in Hong Kong: The Impact of International Norms and Civil Society Advocacy, in Michael Tilbury, Simon N.M. Young, and Ludwig Ng (eds.), Reforming Law Reform: Perspectives on Law Reform Processes in Hong Kong and Beyond (HKU Press, 2014) (co-authored with Kelley Loper).
- The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Using International Law to Promote Social and Economic Development in the Asia Pacific, 35(2) University of Hawaiʻi Law Review (2013). HeinOnline
- Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Hong Kong: A Case for the Strategic Use of Human Rights Treaties and the International Reporting Process, 14(2) Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal 28-83 (2013). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Preserving Traditions or Breaking the Mold? A Comparative Study of the Impact of Transnational Human Rights Processes in the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in Kyriaki Topidi and Lauren Fielder, eds., Transnational Legal Processes and Human Rights (Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 2013).
- Sex Offender Registration and the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Legal and Policy Implications of Registering Juvenile Sex Offenders, 3(1) William & Mary Policy Review 1- 35 (2011) (co-authored with Susan M. Chandler). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Bridging the Gap? The Role of Regional and National Human Rights Institutions in the Asia Pacific, 13(1) Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal 174-209 (2011). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Gender Diversity and Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Is there a Role for the Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities? Chapter in Alexander Schuster, ed., Equality and Justice: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the XXI Century, pp. 161–176 (Editrice Universitaria Udinese, Italy 2011).
- International Norms and Domestic Law Reform: The Difficult Birth of Hong Kong’s Racial Discrimination Law, 6(2) Directions 13-21 (Canadian Race Relations Foundation 2011).
- Population Policy and Eugenic Theory: Implications of China’s Ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 8 China: An International Journal 85-109 (2010). SSRN
- Inclusive Education and Conflict Resolution: Building a Model to Implement Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Asia Pacific, 40 Hong Kong Law Journal 481-512 (2010). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace | ScholarSpace
- Stuck on Formalities? A Critique of Hong Kong’s Legal Framework for Gender Equality, in Fanny M. Cheung and Eleanor Holroyd, eds., Mainstreaming Gender in Hong Kong Society, pp. 401–439 (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2009).
- China’s Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities: the Implications for Hong Kong, 38 Hong Kong Law Journal 611-644 (2008). HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace
- Higher Education Restructuring and Academic Freedom in Hong Kong, 6(1) The Journal of Comparative Asian Development 143-63 (2007) and 6(5) Policy Futures in Education 589-88 (2008) (co-authored with Jan Currie).
- Trafficking of Mainland Chinese Women Into Hong Kong’s Sex Industry: Problems of Identification and Response, 2 Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law 35-84 (2007) (co-authored with Robyn Emerton and Karen Joe Laidler). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace | ScholarSpace
- Embracing Universal Standards? The Role of International Human Rights Treaties in Hong Kong’s Constitutional Jurisprudence, in Fu Hualing, Lison Harris, and Simon N. M. Young, eds., Interpreting Hong Kong’s Basic Law: The Struggle for Coherence, pp. 33–53 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
- Bureaucratic Justice: The Incarceration of Mainland Chinese Women Working in Hong Kong’s Sex Industry, 51(1) International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 52-67 (2007) (co-authored with Robyn Emerton and Karen Joe Laidler).
- Filipino Nightclub Hostesses in Hong Kong: An Analysis of Vulnerability to Trafficking and Human Rights Violations, in Kevin Hewison and Ken Young, eds., Transnational Migration and Work in Asia, pp. 126–143 (Routledge 2006) (co-authored with Robyn Emerton).
- A Progressive Law with Weak Enforcement? An Empirical Study of Hong Kong’s Disability Law, 25(4) Disability Studies Quarterly (Fall 2005).
- Negotiating Respect: Sexual Harassment and the Law in Hong Kong, 7 International Journal of Discrimination and the Law 127-168 (2005). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Racial Equality and the Law: Creating an Effective Statute and Enforcement Model for Hong Kong, 34 Hong Kong Law Journal 459-80 (2004). HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace
- Engendering a Legal System: The Unique Challenge of Postcolonial Hong Kong, in Eliza Lee, ed., Gender and Change in Hong Kong: Globalization, Postcolonialism, and Chinese Patriarchy, pp. 23–48 (University of British Columbia Press 2003).
- The Paris Principles and Human Rights Institutions: Is Hong Kong Slipping Further Away from the Mark? 33 Hong Kong Law Journal 513-22 (2003). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace.
- Recent Developments in Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Law, in Richard Wu and Felix Chan, eds., Law Lectures for Practitioners 2002, pp. 41–66 (Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2003).
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: A Comparison of Its Implementation and the Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, 26 Hastings International and Comparative Law Review 1-50 (2002) (co-authored with Harriet Samuels). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- National Security Offences and Civil Liberties in Hong Kong: A Critique of the Government’s ‘Consultation’ on Article 23 of the Basic Law, 32 Hong Kong Law Journal 457-70 (2002). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace | ScholarSpace
- The Right to Equality in the Public Sector: An Assessment of Post-Colonial Hong Kong, 32 Hong Kong Law Journal 103-34 (2002). HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace
- Investigation and Conciliation of Employment Discrimination Claims in the Context of Hong Kong, 5 Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal 627-69 (2001). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Preserving Academic Freedom in Hong Kong: Lessons from the ‘Robert Chung Affair’, 30 Hong Kong Law Journal 165-76 (2000). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- The Failure of the Hong Kong Court of Appeal to Recognise and Remedy Disability Discrimination, 30 Hong Kong Law Journal 6-21 (2000). HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace
- Implementing Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value: A Feminist Perspective, in Proceedings: Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value, pp. 52–69 (Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission 2000).
- Equal Opportunities: A New Field of Law for Hong Kong, in Raymond Wacks, ed., The New Legal Order in Hong Kong, pp. 595–625 (HKU Press 1999).
- Implementing Equality: An Analysis of Two Recent Decisions Under Hong Kong’s Anti-Discrimination Laws, 29 Hong Kong Law Journal 178-94 (1999). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Preserving Institutions of Autonomy in Hong Kong: The Impact of 1997 on Academia and the Legal Profession, 22 Southern Illinois University Law Journal 337-68 (1998). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Hong Kong’s First Anti-Discrimination Laws and Their Potential Impact on the Employment Market, 27 Hong Kong Law Journal 324-55 (1997). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Values in Transition: The Development of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in Hong Kong, 19 Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Journal 337-62 (1997). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- Equality as a Human Right: the Development of Anti-Discrimination Law in Hong Kong, 34 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 334-88 (1996). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- No Longer a ‘Tool of the State Plan’? An Analysis of the 1993 Amendments to China’s Economic Contract Law, 24 Hong Kong Law Journal 416-35 (1994). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
- The Green Paper on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men: An Exercise in Consultation or Evasion? 24 Hong Kong Law Journal 8-16 (1994). HeinOnline
- Reproduction and Family Planning: Individual Right or Public Policy?, in Raymond Wacks, ed., Hong Kong, China and 1997: Essays in Legal Theory, pp. 261-305 (Hong Kong University Press, 1993).
- The Hong Kong Bill of Rights and Women: A Bait and Switch? in William Fong, Andrew Byrnes, and George Edwards, eds., Hong Kong’s Bill of Rights: Two Years On, pp. 95-113 (Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong 1993).
Books and Research Reports
- Balancing National Security and the Rule of Law: Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law (Hong Kong Watch 2018), available at: https://www.hongkongwatch.org/all-posts/2018/11/1/new-report-balancing-national-security-and-the-rule-of-law-article-23-of-the-basic-law).
- Human Rights in Asia: A Comparative Legal Study of Twelve Asian Jurisdictions, France, and the United States (Routledge 2006) (co-edited with Randall Peerenboom and Albert H. Y. Chen).
- Academic Freedom in Hong Kong (Lexington Books 2006) (co-authored with Jan Currie and Ka-Ho Mok).
- National Security and Fundamental Freedoms: Hong Kong’s Article 23 Under Scrutiny (Hong Kong University Press 2005) (co-edited with Fu Hualing and Simon N.M. Young).
- Enforcing Equal Opportunities: Investigation and Conciliation of Discrimination Complaints in Hong Kong (Centre for Comparative and Public Law 2003) (co-authored with Janice Fong and Gabrielle Rush).
- Hong Kong Equal Opportunity Law – Legislative History Archive 1993-97 (CCPL 1999) (six-volume database and commentary, co-edited with Andrew Byrnes).
Legislation and Legislative Proposals
- Group Submission to the Legislative Council, the Department of Justice, and the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR on the National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill, Centre for Comparative and Public Law Occasional Paper No. 9, May 2003 (in hard-copy and at http://www.hku.hk/ccpl/) (co-authored with Fu Hualing, Kelley Loper, and Simon Young).
- Equal Opportunities Bill 1994, published in Hong Kong Government Gazette, Legal Supplement No. 3, pp. 991–1275 (co-authored with Anna Wu, Andrew Byrnes, Adam Mayes, and Eric Chow).
- Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission Bill, published in Edwards and Byrnes, eds, Hong Kong’s Bill of Rights: 1991-1994 and Beyond (Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong 1995), pp 83–140 (co-authored with Anna Wu, Andrew Byrnes, Adam Mayes, and Eric Chow).
Forthcoming
- International Law and The Rights of Women in East Asia: A Comparative Study of the Impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, presented at the 2023 ILA-ASIL Research Forum in Taipei, Taiwan, December 25-27, 2023 (forthcoming in the Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs 2024).
- Gender Equality and Sustainable Oceans (presented at the International Ocean Science, Policy and Law Conference, in French Polynesia, Sept. 25-27, 2023) (forthcoming in the Asia Pacific Journal of Ocean Law & Policy 2024).

Contact
Phone: (808) 956-6940
Fax: (808) 956-5569
Office
M 1-3 pm or by appointment
Files
Classes
Course # | Class Title | Semester | Year |
---|---|---|---|
530 | Spring | 2022 | |
530 | Spring | 2021 | |
530 | Spring | 2017 | |
530 | Spring | 2018 | |
530 | Spring | 2011 | |
530 | Spring | 2013 | |
536 | Fall | 2014 | |
536J | Spring | 2015 | |
536J | Spring | 2016 | |
536J | Spring | 2017 |