Jingchen 

XU

Dr Jingchen Xu obtained her SJD and LLM in Admiralty (with distinction) from Tulane University Law School. She obtained her LLB in Maritime Law from Dalian Maritime University. At Tulane, Jingchen was a Senior Editor for Volumes 40-41 of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, and a research assistant to Professor Robert Force. Jingchen’s work has been published in the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and the Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce and she has presented papers at several conferences. She has interned with the American P & I Club and several US maritime law firms and is admitted to practice law in New York State and in China.

Presentations

• “The Law Applicable to the Arbitration Agreement: Discerning Party Autonomy Through the Muddy Water”, CML Lunch Seminar Series, 9 September 2020
• “Finance Lease of Ships in Bankruptcy: True Lease or Disguised Security Interest?”, CML Lunch Seminar Series, 28 January 2020
• “Forum Shopping and the Shift of COMI”, CML Lunch Seminar Series, 23 October 2019
• “Maritime Cross-Border Insolvency in China”, CML Lunch Seminar Series, 20 March 2019
• “Ship Arrest and the Hanjin Bankruptcy: Lessons for Ship Management”, Maritime Management, Organisation and Liability Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, 26-27 November 2018
• “Insolvency Forum Shopping as A Means of Management”, CML Lunch Seminar Series, 13 November 2018
• “Shelter in the Storm: Interpleader Proceedings as Protection for Owners in the Wake of the OW Bunker Bankruptcy”, International Conference on Cross-Border Insolvency and Maritime Matters, Hong Kong, China, 21-22 November 2017

Recent/Selected Publications

Journal articles

• “Maritime Cross-Border Insolvency in China” (2020) 29 International Insolvency Review 118–137
• “Shelter in the Storm: Interpleader Proceedings as Protection for Owners in the Wake of the OW Bunker Bankruptcy” (2018) 92 American Bankruptcy Law Journal 553-571 (with Chu Beiping)
• “A Protective Method for Vessel Owners Following the Collapse of OW Bunker: The Second Circuit Approval of Interpleader Actions in Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft v US Oil Trading” (2016) 47 Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce 389-403

Books

• Maritime Cross-Border Insolvency under the UNCITRAL Model Law Regime: Commonwealth and US Perspectives (Hart Publishing, 2020), 248pp

Book Chapter

• ‘Ship Arrest and the Hanjin Bankruptcy: Lessons for Ship Management’, in Stephen Girvin and Vibe Ulfbeck (eds), Maritime Management, Organisation and Liability: A Legal Analysis of New Challenges in the Maritime Industry (Hart Publishing, 2021) 11,848 words

Working paper

• “Maritime Cross-Border Insolvency in China“, (2019) CML Working Paper Series, CML-WPS-1904

• Maritime and Admiralty Law
• Maritime Bankruptcy
• International Trade and Transportation
• Marine Insurance
• International and Comparative Law
• International Private Law

Research Project

Maritime Cross-Border Insolvency Under the UNCITRAL Model Law Regime
The problem of maritime cross-border insolvency has risen to prominence in recent years with the global financial crisis and the current declining shipping market. The tensions and inconsistencies in the way in which maritime cross-border insolvency scenarios have been dealt with by the courts of different countries have given rise to significant debates and need to be addressed urgently. In order to promote international trade and the shipping market, both debtors and maritime (and indeed non-maritime) creditors need certainty and predictability. The project is expected to lead to a book publication.

A Comparative Study of Maritime Arbitration in Asia
In the last decade, one of the most significant commercial changes in the field of global maritime trade is the shift of the global economic centre of gravity to Asia. In order to reflect and respond to the commercial needs of the continuing economic development in the region, the development of maritime arbitration as a mechanism for commercial dispute resolution has attracted extensive attention worldwide. Nevertheless, the further development of maritime arbitration in Asia continues to face challenges, such as the increasing costs and delay of arbitration proceedings, the lack of skilled arbitrators or legal counsel to deal with a greater degree of technically sophisticated cases, and the risk to enforcement of arbitral awards in certain jurisdictions. In order to solidify and promote its position, and at the same time to better respond to the challenges and development of the shipping industry in the future, it is essential to undertake an in-depth comparative analysis of maritime arbitration in Asia. This research will provide a comparative study of key issues in the field of maritime arbitration in Asia at both a theoretical and practical level. This comparative study will focus on the three leading shipping jurisdictions in Asia — namely, Singapore, Hong Kong, and mainland China.