Image of Dr. Dr. Qin (Sky) Ma

Dr. Dr. Qin (Sky) Ma

Postdoc

Main Focus

  • Comparative criminal law and procedure
  • Artificial intelligence, courts, and criminal justice
  • Epistemology, evidence and proof theory
  • International criminal law and human rights

Curriculum Vitae

Academic Positions and Fellowships

  • 2026 (scheduled): Academic Visitor, Oxford University, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS), Oxford
  • 2025–present: Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Department of Criminal Law
  • June 2025: CIVICA Faculty Short Visiting Fellow, Sciences Po, Paris
  • 2024–2025: Max Weber Fellow, European University Institute (EUI), Florence
  • 2023–2024: Hauser Global Fellow, New York University School of Law, New York
  • 2021–2024: Lecturer and Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow, Soochow University School of Law, Suzhou, China
  • 2017–2023: Research Fellow, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Transnational Program on Criminal Justice, Los Angeles

Education

  • 2017–2023: S.J.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science), UCLA School of Law, Dean’s Fellowship
  • 2017–2021: Ph.D. in Law, Tsinghua University, Outstanding Thesis Award, Beijing
  • 2016–2017: L.L.M. in International and Comparative Law, UCLA School of Law
  • 2013–2016: J.M. (Juris Master), Tsinghua University, First-Class Scholarship, Beijing
  • 2009–2013: B.A. in English Language and Literature, Jilin University, Changchun, China

Professional Experience

  • 2019–2020: Legal Intern, Supreme People’s Court of China, Core Member of the Drafting Group for the Judicial Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law, Beijing
  • 2017: Judicial Clerk (Externship), California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Los Angeles
  • 2016–2020: Chief Executive Editor, Chinese Case Law Review, Beijing
  • 2016–2017: Editor, Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs, UCLA
  • 2015: Legal assistant at international law firm, Beijing

Professional Qualifications

  • Since 2025: Qualified for admission to the New York State Bar
  • Since 2015: Certified national legal professional qualification, China

Projects

Front view of United States Supreme Court building at day time, Washington DC, USA. Judicial branch. Artificial Intelligence concept, hologram. AI, machine learning, neural network, robotics

Head of project: Qin (Sky) Ma
This project examines how emerging technologies, including artificial intel­li­gence (AI), blockchain, and virtual reality, are reshaping judicial decision-making and transforming the role of courts. Using empirical methods and comparative legal analysis, the study investigates the ways in which… more

Headless man holding a black balloon with a hat, surreal concept.

Head of project: Qin (Sky) Ma
What happens to criminal liability when human action is increasingly mediated or even replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) and neurotechnologies such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)? Traditional legal frameworks, particularly mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus (guilty act), have been built… more

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