The Faculty of Law at the University of Lapland had the pleasure to host an eminent expert in International Law, namely Dr Zhu Wenqi, Professor of International Law at Renmin University of China in Beijing and the Director of the International Criminal Law Institute and the International Humanitarian Law Centre.
Professor Zhu was for many years a diplomat in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As Deputy Director of the International Public Law Division at the ministry, he was in charge of all legal issues touching upon international criminal justice and humanitarian law. His expertise has further developed when he held positions as Legal Assistant, Legal Advisor and Appeals Counsel in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (the ICTY) and that for Rwanda (the ICTR).
During his visiting stay, Professor Zhu gave an intensive course on International Criminal Law, which took place from Monday 13 October until Thursday 16 October 2014.
This research stay not only enhance the China Law education provided at the University of Lapland but also strengthens the already fruitful collaboration between this University and Remnin University of China.
For more information about the course, please visit the course website.
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
The CASS, Institute of Law delegation is currently in Helsinki while on its way to the 6th Sino-Finnish Seminar in Turku. Together with Chinese scholars attending the annual China Intellectual Property Day, the delegation visited key institution of Finnish legal system: the Ombudsman office and the constitutional law committee at the Parliament.
Chinese scholars attended a short meeting with senior officer Jari Pirjola at the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Office…
… after which they met with meeting with MP Johannes Koskinen, chairman of the constitutional law committee
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.
This week has been very important in the life of the Center! Our main Chinese partner has reaffirmed its commitment. Furthermore, the Center’s collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, which started during the visit of Dr Pissler, Head of the China Unit, bore its first fruits.
Professor Chen Su
Deputy Director of CASS, Institute of Law, Professor Chen Su, visited Helsinki as he traveled to Europe to speak at the seminar “Employee Participation and Collective Bargaining in the Era of Globalization”. Both in Helsinki and Hamburg, Professor Chen has underlined the importance of the Center in Sino-Finnish cooperation and reaffirmed his commitment to future research activities. Professor Chen Su satisfaction with the ongoing collaboration and his promise to ensure its further growth have been restated in a news entry available on the CASS, Institute of Law website.
Max-Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in 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’ with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law has been very successful and has deepened the collaboration between Finnish, Chinese and European scholars. This sentiment has been shared also by Professors Liukkunen, Basedow and Chen Su, who would like to publish all papers presented at the seminar as a book. The volume in English is to appear in 2015 with the publisher Mohr Siebeck in the “Beiträge zum ausländischen und internationalen Privatrecht”-series. Moreover, Professor Chen Su is also planning to prepare a Chinese version of the book.
Kluwer INSIGHTreports that within few weeks after publication,“China and ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work” is the best selling Kluwer’s title!
Although China is not new to labour law – it was among the founders of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1919 – labour conditions in China today are the subject of concern to observers both inside China and in the international community. In response, China has devoted much attention recently to reforming its labour law system, a process driven by a political reorientation towards labour protection in the context of economic globalization. However, labour disputes and labour unrest continue to proliferate. Using as its starting point an international research seminar held at Helsinki University in January 2013, this volume gathers a remarkable array of academic perspectives on China and its legal system by scholars from China, the United States, and Europe into a stimulating and unique combination of commentary and analysis of the challenges relating to implementation of fundamental labour rights as spelled out in the landmark 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in the Chinese setting. Importantly, the analysis fully takes into account action in relation to the promotion of labour rights by not only the Chinese government but local governmental authorities, trade unions, enterprises, and other actors. Each author focuses on a different aspect of how these fundamental labour rights operate in the Chinese legal environment and the kinds of obstacles met in their protection. Among the issues that arise are the following:
gaps between ILO conventions and Chinese national laws occurring in the transformation of international obligations into domestic laws;
how parties to a labour dispute cases may invoke ILO conventions before courts or administrative authorities;
market obstacles caused by linking trade with observance of labour standards;
the trade union rights framework in China;
bottom-up pressures from workers’ collective action;
conflicts between Chinese state-owned enterprises and their employees;
complications in informal employment labour relations;
the growing divide between statute law and legal practice;
implementation of the anti-discrimination law;
discrimination due to China’s household registration system; and
corporate social responsibility.
Many of the challenges relating to implementation of fundamental labour rights discussed in this volume can be considered common to many countries. The book offers new research questions and a wider scope of analysis, and also provides new tools for discussion regarding the promotion of fundamental labour rights. In that sense, this volume relates not only to research on labour issues in China but also to global research concerned with an increasingly pressing challenge of our time. For these reasons, it will be of tremendous value to academics in labour law, trade law and comparative law, and greatly useful to practitioners in these fields.
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
We are glad to announce that Hanken School of Economics became the ninth Member of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture on 12 December 2013.
Hanken hosts the Academy of Finland research project “Legal Transplant For Innovation and Creativity – A Sino-Finnish Comparative Study on the Governance of Intellectual Property Rights” (TranSIP) and organizes courses on IPR in China.
Hanken has been an important partner to the Center and we are glad that it has become its official and full Member.
The two main topics of focus were “Copyright Law and Collective Rights Management” and “IPR Enforcement and Innovation Policy”.
The organizers consider the workshop to be very successful as it brought together over 30 scholars and experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, IPR University Center, University of Helsinki, Hanken School of Economics, Tsinghua University School of Law, Peking University and Shenzhen University School of Law. Also, in the closing speech Professor Niklas Bruun said that the seminar was rewarding, since it gave the opportunity to discussed, from different national perspectives, the very same issues that need to be dealt with in both Finland and China.
The success of the workshop shows the importance of topic and the worth of a further bilateral cooperation. Therefore, the exchange will continue during the second seminar, which will be held in June 2014.
For a more detailed account of the event, please refer to the CASS, Institute of Law news entry (in Chinese).
For more details, please see also the workshop program.
University of Helsinki
