Ms. Teresa Cheng, SC, was appointed Secretary for Justice on January 6, 2018. She was a Senior Counsel in private practice before joining the Government. She is also a chartered engineer, chartered arbitrator and accredited mediator. She was frequently engaged as arbitrator or counsel in complex international commercial or investment disputes. Ms. Cheng was one of the founders and Chairman of the Asian Academy of International Law. She is a Past Vice President of the International Council of Commercial Arbitration, Past Vice President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and Past Chairperson of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. In 2008, she became the first Asian woman elected through a global election as President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She served as Deputy Judge / Recorder in the Court of First Instance of the High Court of Hong Kong from 2011 to 2017. She is a member of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Panel of Arbitrators, and was a member of the World Bank's Sanctions Board. Ms. Cheng is a Fellow of King's College in London, and was the Course Director of the International Arbitration and Dispute Settlement Course at the Law School of Tsinghua University in Beijing.