Hosted by the international research project Law and the Other in Post-Multicultural Europe, Associate Professor William Hui-yen Hsu from Dong Hwa University, Taiwan, on Friday, 9th October 2015, gave a guest lecture on Taiwan’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Associate Professor William Hui-yen Hsu from Dong Hwa University, Taiwan
The lecture highlighted the implementation process Taiwan has gone through as a non-contracting party to the treaties, and the specific implementing measures adopted domestically to fulfill the goal. Professor Hsu supplemented the lecture with sample Supreme Court cases on cultural rights issues, as well as his personal observation of the changes to Supreme Court’s approach to death penalty pre- and post-implementation of ICCPR. Lastly, Professor Hsu suggested that the culture of human rights has remained premature in Taiwan, and that more changes to existing laws would be needed in order for the country to be fully aligned with that prescribed by the treaties.
As a part of patent licensing academy and Helsinki IP summer school 2015, the seminar ‘China IP Day IV’ took place in Scandic Hotel Simonkatu on 12th June 2015. It is the fourth seminar hosted by IPR University Centre and Hanken School of Economics to help Finnish community understand the Chinese IP laws and how to better enforce their rights in China. This seminar is also one of the activities organized within the framework of the Finnish Academy funded project ‘Legal Transplant For Innovation and Creativity: A Sino-Finnish Comparative Study On Governance of Intellectual Property Rights.’
Professor Nari Lee opening the China IP Day IV
In this seminar, three scholars and one manager talked on the anti-monopoly law in the field of IP. Mr. Kan He from Hanken School of Economics offered the audience a general picture on IP enforcement and anti-monopoly law in the field of IP. Dr. Liguo Zhang (University of Helsinki) analysed the recently decided Qualcomm Case and offered advices for companies on patent licensing in China within the influence of Qualcomm case. Prof. Dr. Weijun Zhang talked about the legislation and cases concerning SEPs (Standard Essential Patent) and enforcement through different agencies. Lastly, Mr. An Jun offered the audience advice on business opportunities and presented IP latest developed in China. Professor Dr. Hanns Ullrich from College of Europe and Dr. Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan from King’s College, Cambridge University, offered comprehensive comments on the presentation that enable a vivid discussion involving not only the speakers but also the participants.
Opening of the doctoral seminar with keynote speakers: Prof. Ditlev Tamm, Prof. Pia Letto-Vanamo, Prof. Kimmo Nuotio, Prof. Sun and Prof. Wang
Professor Kimmo Nuotio led a delegation of doctoral students, from all Finnish law faculties. First, they attended a two days Sino-Nordic doctoral seminar
in Shanghai, co-organized with Fudan University Law School and with the support of the Nordic Center. Both Finnish and Chinese young scholars gave presentations based on their their broader doctoral research. All participants were very enthusiastic aboutthe opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from each other, therefore the discussion continue beyond the lecture venue to the dinner tables filled with Chinese cuisine specialties.
Some of the doctoral researchers: Kristof Petretei, Tuomas Tiittala, Daniel Acquah, Ekpemi Ekhabafe, Timo Enroth, Niko Soininen, Hanna Lukkari, Anna Petretei and Beata Mäihäniemi
The discussions and exchange between the young generation of scholars have been of a high academic level and set strong foundation for comparative studies. Therefore, it the idea of continuing such seminars was warmly welcomed. The Danish Forum of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture offered to organize the next Sino-Nordic Doctoral Seminar in 2016.
LCW graduate school covers all fields of legal studies, from various branches of positive law to general jurisprudential studies. Each doctoral student will get acquainted with the europeanisation and the globalisation of law. In 2009 call the emphasis is on comparative law. However, the topic or the approach of the doctoral thesis is not expected to connect tightly with these issues. LCW provides the doctoral students with a systematic 4-year research training programme. All three Finnish Faculties of Law as well as other legal university institutes and departments in Finland take part in the graduate school.
During the lecture, Prof. Petersen presented the legal and normative discourse, as well as related significant (case) material, concerned with the welfare of labour migrants – specifically, but not only, relating to future overseas Chinese working in mining industry in Greenland. This presentation was part of a larger project called ‘Welfare, Well-being and Harmony in World Society? Cases on changing legal cultures from China-Greenland-Denmark’. The project seeks to study global and local interrelations related to changing understandings and changing normative regimes of well-fare/-being. Alongside to the concerns of Chinese migrant workes, focus is put on two other issues: the latent emergence of a global normative culture due to climate change in China and the Arctic/Greenland (challenges to a harmonious society and to survival), and the pressures on families and (gendered) individuals to provide welfare and well-being in light of the importance of market economy and increasing inequality in China and EU/Denmark-Greenland.
The Center’s Guest Lecture Series receives scholars from China and other countries to present the recent developments in specific fields of Chinese law or their research related to Chinese law and Chinese legal culture. The purpose of this series is to keep all interested well informed about the transformations within Chinese law as well as bring awareness of the research focus among China Law scholars. Moreover, the guest lecture series aims to facilitate a cross-border exchange of ideas and promote legal comparison.
The Seminar took place on Tuesday 24.2.2015 at 9:00. A number of experts on China, Chinese Law and Sino-Finnish cooperation discussed in the Parliament Little Auditorium.
On Thursday, 2 October 2014, the Center had the pleasure to host, in the framework of its Guest Lecture Series, a pioneer of Comparative Legal Linguistic in Finland – Professor Heikki E.S Mattila.
Professor Mattila gave a very comprehensive lecture in which he raised a range of general challenges that scholars face in studying foreign laws, and especially when doing so through the use of translations. He underlined that it is important to ask what kind of background knowledge – in relation to both comparative law and legal linguistics – researchers need to have when studying foreign law.
He started therefore by giving an historical background of the globalization of European legal traditions and languages, with a special focus on Asia. Based on the intensification of socio-economic relations and the growing importance of Asian countries, he also discussed the future of Asian law and Asian legal languages. Chinese and other Asian legal languages may or may not become transnational legal lingua francas, yet it is certain that European lawyers will encounter these languages increasingly. Hence, he identified the sources of misunderstanding, such as the use of link- and ‘zigzag’ translations, and underlined that the solution lies in the awareness of the challenges and in a broad understanding of the foreign culture. Professor Mattilla drew upon his extensive experience in comparative legal studies to present these developments using case studies of India, Indonesia and China.
Following this insightful lecture, the audience, which included Western and Chinese scholars, engaged into a lively discussion. Topics covered issues such as the romanization of Chinese for study purposes, the return to traditional Chinese in legal work in China, the uncertainty of English, Chinese and Finnish as legal languages, the emergence of new types of English like ‘European English’ and ‘Global English’, and the core place that culture occupies in comparative legal linguistic. All these factors create the challenges that one needs to be aware of when studying Chinese Law.
Professor Jukka Mähönen, Dean Faculty of Law, University of Turku
The sixth annual Sino-Finnish Seminar on Comparative Law once again proved to be a great success, with Chinese and Finnish scholars coming together to discuss pressing legal issues, relevant not only to the Finnish and Chinese domestic systems, but also globally. This year the seminar was hosted by the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Turku, Professor Jukka Mähönen, who conveyed to all participants his pleasure with the outcomes of the seminar.
An important topic of this year’s conference was the role and place of courts in society. Under scrutiny was their impact within the legal system vis-à-vis other organs exercising state authority, and the challenges courts and judges face in an increasingly digitalized world. The effects of globalization on labour relations and employee participation, as well as taxation and monetary impacts of European integration, were also discussed.
Professor Li Lin, Director CASS, Institute of Law
The seminar benefited from an open atmosphere of exchange, allowing high-quality academic comparison of legal issues. Finnish and Chinese scholars valued the opportunity to come together in order to further discuss legal areas of concern and develop ideas. At the same time, Finnish and Chinese circumstances have points of difference and scholars noted that cultural context was important to take into account when looking at the particularities of legal ideas and models between countries. Based on the lively discussions which followed insightful presentations, participants conveyed their anticipation for ongoing and deepening exchange and comparative law analysis.
In their closing words, Finnish China Law Center partner institution’s representatives reflected upon the depth that the Sino-Finnish collaboration has reached over the six years, and discussed prospects for its future growth. Professor Li Lin, Director of the Institute of Law in CASS, Professor Juha Karhu, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Lapland and Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, acknowledged the sincerity and seriousness of the commitment of all involved throughout the years, which made possible such an extensive collaboration going beyond the organization of the bilateral seminar. It was noted that CASS and Finnish Universities are currently carrying out jointly several research projects on important issues such as employee participation, intellectual property, the arctic question, and environmental and gender issues.
Li Lin, Xie Zengyi, Kimmo Nuotio (eds.), Safeguarding Human Rights and Constructing the Rule of Law: A Comparison between China and Finland, China Forum on the Rule of Law. Social Sciences Academic Press (China), 2014.
Seminar organizers also noted that other tangible outcomes of this collaboration include publications based on the annual seminars. Indeed, this collaboration resulted in the proud presentation in Turku of Safeguarding Human Rights and Constructing the Rule of Law: A Comparison between China and Finland, the third collection of papers given previously at annual seminars.
The Sino-Finnish collaboration has grown from strength to strength through common efforts and shared goals. This is demonstrated by the very existence of the Finnish China Law Center and its active participation in organizing this seminar. Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Center, underlined the importance of such platforms for comparative exchange. Professor Katja Lindroos, representing the University of Eastern Finland, agreed and looks forward to contribute in the advancement of such unique exchange. Professor Ye Jingyi of Peking University’s involvement in the seminar was also highly valued, and further illustrated the importance of this Sino-Finnish collaboration.
CASS Delegation and representatives of the Center’s Member Institutions
The closing panel unanimously agreed that the seminar in Turku had further deepened the comparative law aspects of the collaboration. As the seminar outcomes were of such significance, the announcement was made that the presentations will be adapted into chapters which shall be published as a book. This book, conference collaborators announced, would be presented next year at the 7th Sino-Finnish Seminar on Comparative Law to be held at CASS in Beijing.
The account of the seminar and Director Li Lin visit to Finland is available in Chinese on CASS, Institute of Law website.
On 8-9 June, 2014, two academic events were successfully organized by Hanken School of Economics, University of Helsinki, as parts of the on-going Finnish Academy research project “Legal Transplant For Innovation and Creativity: A Sino-Finnish Comparative Study On Governance of Intellectual Property Rights (TranSIP).”
Rule of Law and Governance of IPR and Innovation in China, 8 June
The first of these events was held on 8 June, as an academic conference of the researchers of the research project. Research team members from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), as well as Shenzhen University, lead by Prof Mingde Li (Director of Intellectual Property Law Division, Institute of Law, CASS) have discussed current topics of IP law together with the Finnish research team from Hanken School of Economics (PI, Nari Lee) and University of Helsinki (PI, Niklas Bruun) under the theme, ‘Governance of Intellectual Property Rights in China and Europe.’ Starting with a general discussion on the ‘Rule of Law and Governance of IPR in China’, and further under the rubric of ’Governance of IP and Markets for Creation’ and ’Governance of Markets for Technology and Innovation Through Intellectual Property Law,’ recent IPR law and institutional reforms, and innovation strategies in EU and China were comparatively explored. The discussion continued on the morning of the 9th June where the participants held an intensive workshop on licensing and enforcement of IP in China and Europe.
IP in China: Growths and Opportunities, 9 June
‘IP in China – Growths and Opportunities’ was the title of the second event. Held as part of the IPR Summer School organized by IPR University Center’s China IP Day series, the seminar was open for general public. Scholars from CASS, Hanken School of Economics, University of Helsinki, Beijing Institute of Technology, Shenzhen University as well as John Marshall University Law School, in the US gave interesting lectures to a full audience of practitioners, students and scholars from 13 different countries. These lectures presented a general picture of IPR laws in China and provided the participants updates on new developments in IP laws that would affect businesses in China.
The events highlighted the importance of dialogue on norm interactions in a globalized world and participants remarked on the high level of discussions and the excellent quality of the presentations of the speakers. The outcome of the academic conference will be published in Edward Elgar Intellectual Property and Global Development series.
Author: Professor Nari Lee, Hanken School of Economics
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg
The first seminar organized by the Academy of Finland Research Project ‘Employee Participation and Collective Bargaining in the Era of Globalization – Nordic and Chinese Perspectives’ wasvery successful and has deepened the collaboration between Finnish, Chinese and European scholars.
Professor Ulla Liukkunen and Professor Chen Su
The event was hosted by Professor Jürgen Basedow, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, and built upon ongoing research being undertaken under the leadership of Professor Ulla Liukkunen, University of Helsinki, and Professor Chen Su, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
Issues of collective labour law, such as the nature of collective agreements, collective bargaining, collective labour conflicts and employee participation were discussed from Chinese, Nordic, German, French and English perspectives. The many European and diverse points of view gave more insight, especially to our Chinese participants, on the different approaches and tensions emerging from harmonization efforts. Once again the Laval case engaged the European scholars present in lively debate.
Chairs and speakers at the seminar
The seminar took place in a friendly atmosphere of mutual respect which enabled a genuine exchange of ideas. The insightful presentations gave a great starting point for lively and fruitful discussion that engaged not only speakers but also the audience of scholars and practitioners.
As many speakers have expressed their satisfaction with the high-level of academic research presented and their gratitude for organizing a seminar focusing purely on labour law, the organizers has announced that a second workshop will be organized in 2015 in Helsinki.
Furthermore, the results of the seminar will be shared with a wider audience through two publications. The volume in English is to appear in 2015 with the publisher Mohr Siebeck in the “Beiträge zum ausländischen und internationalen Privatrecht”-series. In addition, Professor Chen Su is also planning to prepare a Chinese version of the book. We will keep you informed on the development of these projects.
For a more detailed account of the seminar, we invite you to visit the project website.
The year got off to a great start for our Center with the success of the seminar “ILO Fundamental Labour Rights in China: Legal Implementation and Cultural Logic“. Participants traveled to Helsinki from around the world to discuss a wide spectrum of important challenges relating to fundamental labour rights and China. Insightful and engaging presentations were given by international scholars on a range of subjects, including the general legal structures and laws in which the implementation of international labour rights in China is occurring, gender questions in the implementation of labour standards, the implementation by China of labour rights through bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements, and the ‘cultural logic’ behind all these questions.
The strength of the seminar was that the debate did not take place only between the speakers and the commentators. Rather, there was a genuine exchange of ideas amongst all participants, enabled by the experience and knowledge of all the scholars and practitioners who attended. Presenters included a top level representative of the ILO, distinguished Chinese labour lawyers, and labour law, comparative law and international law scholars from China, Europe and the US.
The research team of the project will share the results of the seminar with a wider audience through a publication. Work on this volume has started and we will keep you informed.
Prof. Teemu Ruskola, Special Adviser to the to the Director-General (ILO) Mr Kari Tapiola, Prof. Xie Zengyi, PhD Daniel Fuchs
Professor Xie Zengyi (CASS, Institute of Law)
Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)
Professor Ulla Liukkunen (University of Helsinki)
Professor Ronald C. Brown (University of Hawaii)
Professor Xue Ninglan (CASS, Institute of Law)
Professor Teemu Ruskola (Emory University)
A highlight of the conference was the formal launch, hosted by Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, Kimmo Nuotio, of the first publication to be released under an Academy of Finland-funded research project “ILO Core Labour Standards Implementation in China: Legal Architecture and Cultural Logic”. The book, “China and ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights in Work”, was edited by Professor Ulla Liukkunen and Assistant Professor Chen Yifeng (86 Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, general editor Roger Blanpain, Kluwer), and is based on the papers presented at the project’s international research seminar in January 2013.
The book
Prof. Ulla Liukkunen and Associate Prof. Chen Yifeng
Prof. Ulla Liukkunen and Associate Prof. Chen Yifeng
The event was organized within the Academy of Finland research project which is led by Professor Ari Ekroos and executed in co-operation with the University of Wuhan, Research Institute of Environmental Law in China.
After the opening of the seminar, with supportive words by the Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Chinese and European climate law regimes have been introduced by Professor Tianbao Qin from Wuhan University and Professor Ari Ekroos.
Experts from Finland and China have been joined by German, from the Hemholtz Centre for Environmental Research, and Italian, from the University of Sienna, colleagues to discuss renewable energy, Emission Trading Schemes, legislation development on carbon capture and storage, as well as energy efficiency and buildings energy efficiency legislation.
The organisers are thankful to all speakers as well as to the active audience, and welcome them to visit again for more thought-provoking discussions.
University of Helsinki
