Hugo Luz dos Santos, a PhD student from the Faculty of Law (FLL), University of Macau (UM), has been granted the fellowship of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce of the United Kingdom (commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts, RSA), in recognition of his contributions to the fields of justice, rule of law, and policies worldwide.

The fellowship recognises exceptional individuals across the world who have made significant contributions to social change, arts, manufacture, and commerce, including leading artists, writers, journalists, and former politicians. Among past recipients are Stephen Hawking, Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, Benjamin Franklin, and Nelson Mandela. Santos has devoted himself to investigating the legal frameworks of Macao, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The novelty of his research lies in the combination of several legal fields which, when synergetically fused, can provide teleological and functional gains to a given legal framework. Santos’ supervisor is Assistant Professor Wang Wei from the FLL.

Santos has published dozens of scientific articles on civil procedure law, commercial law, company law, securities law, civil law, administrative law, criminal procedure law, criminal law, gaming law, family law, European Union law, and banking law and arbitration. Most of his articles have been published in Portuguese and English, and have undergone double-blind peer-review in reputable academic journals. Founded in 1754, the RSA Fellowship is a community of leaders in the fields of art, literature, journalism, and business.