Luke Marsh

Luke Marsh is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he teaches criminal law and criminal procedure. He serves as Deputy Director of the Juris Doctor (JD) Programme, supervises the Faculty’s Clinic Programme, and instructs Trial Advocacy for the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL). A former criminal barrister in the UK, Marsh has represented clients across all major courts including the Court of Appeal and worked on high-profile international cases at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

His educational background includes:

• MSt International Human Rights Law (Oxford)
• LL.M (Northumbria, Distinction)
• LL.B (Hons) (King’s College London)
• Barrister of England and Wales

Marsh’s research critically examines the erosion of adversarial justice in criminal systems, with groundbreaking work on plea bargaining and judicial independence. His monograph The Myth of Judicial Independence (Oxford University Press, 2020) challenged foundational assumptions about judicial autonomy, while the Research Handbook on Plea Bargaining (Edward Elgar, 2024) established him as a global authority on negotiated justice. He pioneers clinical legal education in Asia, developing innovative programs that address unmet legal needs in Hong Kong’s refugee community and foster civic engagement through law.

Recent scholarship analyzes systemic crises including Covid-19’s impact on criminal courts, police corruption, and refugee rights. His 15 most recent publications reveal three dominant trends: (1) pandemic-induced collapse of criminal justice procedures, (2) strategic use of human rights frameworks in marginalized communities, and (3) global expansion of plea bargaining threatening due process.

His awards include:

• Faculty Award for Academic Impact in Legal Scholarship (2024)
• CUHK Young Researcher Award (2022)
• CUHK Research Excellence Award (2018-19)
• Baron Dr Ver Heyden De Lancey Prize (top Bar Exam performance)
• Hague Bursary from Middle Temple

Marsh actively mentors students through the Clinic Programme, providing hands-on training in refugee advocacy and trial skills. He has represented asylum seekers via Justice Centre Hong Kong and advised the Legislative Council on refugee policy. His global research network spans Columbia University, UCLA, Oxford, and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, where he investigates cross-jurisdictional justice innovations. Current projects include analyzing coerced guilty pleas in common law systems and developing clinical models for Asian legal education.