Albert HY Chen (陳弘毅) was born in and grew up in Hong Kong. He graduated from the Bachelor of Laws programme of the University of Hong Kong in 1980, and obtained the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws there in 1981. He then undertook postgraduate study in comparative law and theories of law and development at Harvard University, and was awarded the Master of Laws in 1982. Between 1982 and 1984 he worked in a solicitors' firm in Hong Kong; in 1984 he became qualified to practise as a solicitor in Hong Kong. In the same year he began his academic career as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Hong Kong. He served as Head of the Department of Law in 1993-96 and as Dean of the Faculty of Law in 1996-2002. He is currently the Chan Professor in Constitutional Law in the Department of Law. He has taught the subjects of legal system and legal method, constitutional law, administrative law, law and society, jurisprudence, the legal system of the People's Republic of China, research methodology, and the use of Chinese in law. In addition to the present work and over 150 journal articles and book chapters in English and Chinese, Professor Chen is currently a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee under the Standing Committee of China?s National People's Congress, a member of the Strategic Development Commission of the Hong Kong Government, and a Justice of the Peace. He is an honorary professor at several universities in mainland China, and a member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Institute of Law of the Academia Sinica, Taipei. He is also Associate Editor of Hong Kong Law Journal, and a member of the editorial or advisory boards of several journals published in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, and overseas, including China Review, Journal of Comparative Law, Transnational Legal Theory, National Taiwan University Law Review, and Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences.