Speakers' Profiles
Inaugural Rule of Law Congress
“Towards 2030: A Decade of Action for Rule of Law”

Thomas has acted as Arbitrator and Mediator in shareholders and other disputes and is on a number of panel of arbitrators in Asia. He has also acted as Deputy Judge at the District Court (18/11/200213/12/2002) and Temporary Deputy Registrar at the High Court (8/12/2003-10/1/2004). He is a ChinaAppointed Attesting Officer (appointed by the Ministry of Justice of PRC). He was the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong (6/2016 – 6/2018) and is a solicitor-advocate with rights to appear in the higher courts in Hong Kong.
Thomas was praised by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2010/2011 for providing "sound knowledge" and "practical solutions" to clients. Chambers Asia Pacific 2011 describes Thomas is "instrumental in many cross-border cases". Thomas speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Mr. Pé is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of Arbitration Chambers in Hong Kong, London and New York. He was in private practice with major international law firms for over two decades and the Chambers legal directory described him as a “Top-flight” lawyer, who commands “the highest levels of respect in the market”. In 2014, his work in Myanmar received the American Lawyer’s pro bono award for Asia and in 2015 the Financial Times identified him as one of the most innovative lawyers in Asia. He has spoken on law reform in Myanmar at events hosted by the Asian Academy of International Law, Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Chatham House, Economist, Financial Times, Kobe University, University of Hong Kong and US Council on Foreign Relations.

She has over 40 years of experience in corporate dispute resolution and is a past Vice President of the African Users Council of the London Court of International Arbitration; a Governing Board member and immediate past Vice President of the International Council of Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.
Funke also sits on the World Bank Group Sanctions Board, which is the final decision maker in contested cases arising out of allegations of fraud, corruption, and collusion in World Bank Group-financed development operations.



Ms Tam holds qualifications to practise in England and Wales, Singapore and Australian Capital Territory. Her practice area is commercial dispute resolution and international arbitration, with particular expertise in intellectual property. Apart from practicing in IP and general civil disputes as a barrister-advocate, Ms Tam has been engaged as presiding arbitrator and co-arbitrator in a wide variety of commercial disputes administered under HKIAC, UNCITRAL, ICC, CIETAC and SCIA rules conducted in English and in Chinese. Winnie is a sought-after speaker in international conferences on alternative dispute resolution. She is a WIPO panel mediator, a CEDR-accredited mediator, a panel mediator on Mainland-Hong Kong Investment Disputes under CEPA, a JAMS panel mediator, and a JAMS/SCMC Joint Panel Mediator. Ms. Tam has been decorated for her years of public service in Hong Kong. She currently chairs the Communications Authority, and is a member of the Law Reform Commission, the CE’s Council of Advisors on Strategic Development and Innovation, the West Kowloon Cultural District Board, and the Board of Governors of the HK Phil.



Mr Justice Hartmann was born in India in 1944. He graduated with an LLB from the University of London (obtained at University College of Rhodesia, an external college of London) in 1967. In 1971, he was admitted as an attorney, notary public and conveyancer in Zimbabwe.
Mr Justice Hartmann joined the Hong Kong Legal Department in 1983 as a Crown Counsel. He was appointed Senior Crown Counsel in 1984 and Deputy Principal Crown Counsel in 1989. He joined the Hong Kong Judiciary as a District Judge in 1991, was appointed a Judge of the Court of First Instance in 1998. From 2008 to 2012, he served as a Justice of Appeal.
Mr Justice Hartmann was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2012.

