On 18 October 2019, the three institutions co-organized an international conference on ‘Methodology of researching and teaching Chinese law.’ The conference created platform for discussion on the issues of Chinese law research and teaching through sharing of ideas, research and practice. It ended in tremendous success in terms of both participation and reception. This suggested a strong interest among Finnish, Russian and Polish scholars and specialists in China law education and research, and strong potential for Chinese law-related inter-institutional cooperation.
The year 2020 promises further collaboration between the three institutions in the form of seminars, workshops, and dialogues. For starter, researchers from Saint Petersburg State University, and the Polish Research Centre for Law and Economy of China will join and contribute their expertise in the Nordic China Law Week 2020 during 20 to 23 April at the University of Helsinki.
The Center welcomes students, researchers, practitioners, and the wider public from all over the world to take part in an exciting week packed with presentations and discussions surrounding the current hot topics in Chinese law and legal culture.
‘The Center would like to take this opportunity to expand our impact in fostering education and research on Chinese law, and strengthen our contacts and partnerships with other institutions that conduct Chinese law research and education within and beyond the Nordic,’ says Director Ulla Liukkunen.
At the beginning of the Year of the Rat, the Finnish China Law Center would like to sincerely convey its blessing for the Chinese New Year to its friends and partners, in China, the Nordic countries and around the world.
In the last year, the Finnish China Law Center has made great achievement in research work and education on Chinese law and legal culture. It also successfully held the 10th Sino-Finnish Bilateral Seminar on Comparative Law, together with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and in collaboration with Faculty of Law at University of Helsinki. The event has deepened the collaboration and cooperation with legal scholars and institutions in China and other Nordic countries.
In the upcoming year, the Center will continue to promote research and education on Chinese law and legal culture, as well as comparative legal research involving China and its engagement in international business and global institutions. The Center will also organize diverse events and activities, including the Nordic China Law Week 2020 in April, to widen and strengthen our friendship and partnership with China and international institutions.
The text translation is contributed by the Center’s intern, Ms. Xiaodan Zhang who is completing her Masters in International and Comparative Law (International Business Law) at the University of Helsinki.
The Finnish China Law Center is happy to welcome the new coordinator Le Bao Ngoc Pham who has replaced Jani Mustonen from November 2019.
Pham is a native of Vietnam, and a recent graduate from the Master’s program in International and Comparative Law at the University of Helsinki. She intends to use her education and unique cultural insights about East Asia to foster the activities of the Center.
She has worked as research assistant at the Center since March 2019 before transitioning into her hew role as coordinator. She wrote her master thesis on territorial acquisition disputes and also has keen interest in space law. Previously, Pham has obtained a bachelor’s degree in law from the Hanoi Law University in Vietnam.
‘I am privileged to be a part of the Center which present a unique opportunity to use my background in international law to help develop the research into Chinese law and Chinese legal culture in the Nordic region,’ she says. She also emphasizes the important role of the Finnish China Law Center in bridging the differences in legal cultures and promoting Sino-Finnish bilateral exchange.
Pham primarily works with the Director of the Center Professor Ulla Liukkunen, and the Dean of the University of Helsinki Faculty of Law Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, to support the Center’s member institutions and enhance mutual understanding between the Finnish and Chinese legal systems.
Any question about the work that we do here at the Finnish China Law Center, and inquiries concerning the Nordic China Law Week 2020 can be directed to chinalawcenter@helsinki.fi or ngoc.pham@helsinki.fi.
Front row: Professor Ye Jingyi (Vice-Chairperson, Peking University Law School) and Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo (Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki). Back row: Yuan Li (student in the master’s programme in International Business Law, University of Helsinki and intern at the Finnish China Law Center), Assistant Professor Yan Tian (Assistant Dean, Peking University Law School), student in the bachelor of Law programme at University of Helsinki, Professor Ulla Liukkunen (University of Helsinki, Director of the Finnish China Law Center), Assistant Professor Jari Murto (University of Helsinki), and Le Bao Ngoc Pham (Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center)
To mark the long history of extensive collaboration, Peking University Law School and the Finnish China Law Center hosted an afternoon seminar on Labour and Social Law.
The seminar has held on Friday 13 December 2019 at the University of Helsinki.
Professor Yan Tian, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 13 December 2019
The Seminar opened with a presentation by Yan Tian, Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean at Peking University Law School on the topic ‘Towards a Constitutional Theory of Chinese Labor Law’. Professor Yan first described three constitutional visions of labour as arm, spine and embryo of the Constitution. Among the three, the vision of labour as the spine of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution paralyzed if lost is most popularly perceived among Chinese academics. He noted that labor is an important means to achieve the five major values of the Constitution, which comprise of livelihood, democracy, equality, honor and efficiency. Professor Yan went on to examine the constitutional commitment of China’s 1995 Labour Law. The Law has incorporated all the five values of constitutional labor in Chapter 1, particularly in Articles 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8. However, he observed that the commitments have not been perfectly implemented in practice. For livelihood, there has been unfair distribution for labor. In the distribution system in China, the Government and businesses take a very big share. There is only a small part left for the workers. For democracy, it has been a hollow hope for most Chinese workers. The union system is bureaucratic and fails to represent the real interests of the workers. Regarding equality, in recent years, gender discrimination has been striking back. People now begin to challenge whether it is necessary to have so many women in workplaces. Relating to honor, labour is presumed by many as providing less earning and therefore, less respectable. Finally, about efficiency, debates over the inflexibility of labour law has arised in recent years. It is arguable that the labour law system is too rigid to able to accommodate the changing reality of Chinese workplace, especially in informal labour. In his final remark, Professor Yan suggested that labour law must not only keep up with the general trend of labor relations reform, but also be able to incorporate constitutional orders into the reform process, while serving as the legal platform to intergenerational synthesis.
Professor Jari Murto, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 13 December 2019
In the next part of the Seminar, Jari Murto, Assistant Professor in Labour and Social Law at the University of Helsinki gave a presentation on ‘The Basic Income Experiment in the context of Finish Social Security System’. Professor Murto began with a short overview of the Finish social security system. The system is driven by the principle of universality, according to which the system covers all persons living (permanently) in Finland, and the principle of causality which renders right to social security benefit or services based on the specific reason (unemployment, illness, childbirth or studies, etc). The Finnish social security is divided into residence-based and employment-based social security. Residence-based social security is financed by taxation and administered by the Social Insurance Institution Kela. Employment-based social security is based on employee status, and paid for by employment related payments and contributions made by employee and employer, independent insurance companies and unemployment funds and labour market social partners. He next introduced the Basic Income Experiment carried out by the Finnish Government during 2017 and 2018. The purpose of the experiment was to gather information on the effects of basic income on labour market activities, and to examine social security models in the context of changing labour market as well as societal changes. The experiment met with criticism that it only choose unemployment people as target group, and exclude persons working in part-time employment relationships. Professor Murto finally discuss different type of problems in transitions in the labour market. The issues involve how to ensure employment rate of 75 %, how to guarantee that companies are able to recruit skilled work force and lack of skilled work force does not follow problems to business, and how to minimize risks to individual person relating interruptions and transitions in the labour market.
Speakers’ bios:
Yan Tian is an Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean at Peking University Law School. In addition to constitutional law, Assistant Professor Yan’s research interests include labour law and administrative law. He has published a monograph on employment discrimination law and several articles in the Chinese, English, and Korean languages. Previously, Professor Yan served as Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Peking University Law School. In addition to Bachelor and Master degrees from Peking University, Assistant Professor Yan has J.S.D. and LL.M. degrees from the Law School of Yale University.
JariMurto is an Assistant Professor in labour and social law at the University of Helsinki. His main research interests are related to the determination on terms of employment as well as development of labour law norms, norm system and doctrines of labour law. Professor Murto’s dissertation on “Company specific Group Norms” (2015) was a systematization of legal norms created at the company level concerning groups of employees. In the area of social law Murto’s main research interests are related to transitional labour market and legislation institutions in different type of transitions. Before University of Helsinki, he worked at the University of Turku.
On 13 December 2019, following the signing ceremony which renews the bilateral exchange agreement between the University of Helsinki (UH) and Peking University (PKU), Professor Ye Jingyi and Assistant Professor Yan Tian had a meeting with Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, and Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center. During the meeting, the two sides discussed possibilities of further cooperation between their respective Faculties of Law.
Professor Ye Jingyi and Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo
Professor Liukkunen highlighted the latest developments in Chinese law research and education atUH with the introduction of Faculty of Law’s new international master’s programme called Global Governance Law (GGL) which offers study track in Chinese law. ‘GGL would attract many students who are passionate about learning Chinese and comparative laws from a Nordic perspective’, said Professor Letto-Vanamo. Professor Liukkunen added that meanwhile, the Finnish China Law Center has been receiving several requests to conduct visiting research here. In view of the applicants’ qualification and experience, the Center will incorporate them into the Center’s research projects and academic lectures and seminars. The Center also houses several interns from different legal backgrounds and legal cultures, who involve in legal research, editing and writing on the law and China, and events organized by the Center. In April 2020, the Center will again hold the China Law Research Workshop providing an overview of how to approach Chinese legal research and comparative law research involving China.
Professor Ye remarked that the GGL programme would be a great basis for future collaboration. PKU would consider recommending young scholars for visiting and giving lectures in the programme. She also mentioned that PKU highly valued the Center and UH Faculty of Law’s effort in promoting Chinese law and legal culture in Finland and the Nordic, and would like to joint hand in developing Sino-Nordic comparative law researches in civil law, social security, labour law, and human rights. ‘The Nordic legal model, especially in labour law, is very strong and unique. It is indeed what China can learn from,’ she remarked.
East Asia is an economically connected region with overlapping historical, linguistic, and cultural characteristics, as well as diverse nations and groups with different political systems and contemporary cultures.
For a more international perspective, University of Turku, a member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, sets up the master’s programme called East Asian Studies (EAST). With this Programme, participants will learn the sociocultural understanding and analytical skills of international relations and history development.
Students in the Programme would gain expertise on East Asian contemporary history, politics and societies and learn social science research methods. Additionally, they would have good opportunities for student exchange in East Asian universities as well as receiving East Asian study and research scholarships. The Programme provides expertise to enter international public, private and third sector professions. Students would also become qualified to apply to PhD programmes and pursue an academic career.
The Programme sets up six modules, including Study and Research Skills, Histories of East Asian Countries, Contemporary Politics, Societies, and Economies of East Asia, East Asia in Regional and Global Context, Master’s Thesis, Work Life Competences and Language Studies. It provides also courses on the following subjects about China:
The application period for the Programme begins on 8 January 2020, and ends on 22 January 2020 . For information about the application process and how to apply, please visit the Programme website.
The text is contributed by the Center’s intern, Ms. Zhiqi Luan. Zhiqi Luan is a graduate student at the China University of Political Science and Law, and an exchange student at University of Helsinki for the autumn term 2019-2020.
This is Part II of the two-part blog post on the interview with Prof. Kimmo Nuotio on his thoughts and recollection of the China Law Center, as well as other aspects of Chinese collaboration, including the Belt-and-Road Initiative. The interview has been done by our research assistant, Ngor Sin. Part I can be found here.
In Part II, we cover Prof. Kimmo Nuotio’s participation in Belt and Road Initiative-related projects, and his general experience of collaboration with Chinese scholars and education institutions. He also gave very insightful comments on his personal approach of how to collaborate with Chinese colleagues.
New Silk Road Law Schools Alliance and the related publication
One of the biggest efforts in BRI regarding legal science collaboration is the New Silk Road Alliance of Law Schools, which Prof. Nuotio has knowledge since the Alliance’s infancy. He recalled that during his visit to Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2014 to give the opening lecture of a Silk Road-related seminar, there was a discussion between him and the then-Dean of Faculty of Law of Xi’an Jiaotong University Wenhua Shan. During the talk for furthering cooperation between Chinese and foreign law schools, the idea of some new arrangement was developed. After some further exchanges and preparation especially on the Chinese side, the alliance was launched in 2015. From the start, the alliance aimed at bringing together high-quality Chinese and foreign law schools and having a regular platform for exchange of ideas and possible collaborations. Each year, the Alliance would hold Dean Meetings (such as the ones in 2016) as well as other academic conferences to discuss BRI-related topics.
Prof. Kimmo Nuotio signing the documents, bringing the University of Helsinki Faculty of Law in to the New Silk Road Law School Alliance in 2015.
The publication “Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative” is the direct result of the conferences. This book is an early reflection of the legal aspects in BRI. In Prof. Nuotio’s opinion, BRI is mainly a foreign policy concept, but it is interesting to conduct research on this policy, as the legal aspect of BRI comprises of not only Chinese law, but also international law, especially rules regarding how China deals with its neighbours, how the BRI investments are made and are protected by legal regimes. He also mentioned the reason for this publication is to make the best use of materials published in the conferences, as he believe that all collaborations should be serious and should result in some sort of published works, so that the world at large also can read about the results of the academic collaborations.
“Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative” offers normative readings on China’s master plan on foreign affairs, in the context of China as the rising power Covers fields including legal philosophy, Chinese philosophy, labor protection, financial mechanism, environmental protection and other non-trade aspects of the BRI Written for researchers and governmental actors.
General Experience of collaboration with Chinese scholars and institutions
Talking about his experience in China, Prof. Nuotio is very positive about his collaboration as well as visits in general. His recent seminar in Peking University on sexual offences was a success. The proceedings of the seminar, including Prof. Nuotio’s presentation and responses from the audience was recently published online (in Chinese), which Prof. Nuotio is very pleased to hear about. For him, although scholars are often responsible for high-level abstract knowledge production, there must be some groundwork done in order for the legal systems to develop. He also noticed that despite the geographical differences, discussions about problems arising from the legal systems of different countries, such as China and Finland, are almost always the same, thus comparative studies would play a vital role in assisting the development of legal systems.
Prof. Kimmo Nuotio sharing the Finnish experience in development of criminal law concerning sexual offences in Peking University in 2019.
From there, Prof. Nuotio also spoke about his general perception about collaboration with Chinese scholars and institutions in general. He regarded Chinese scholars highly for their openness and frankness. As a criminal law professor, he reckoned that sometimes society has wicked problems that must be confronted and solved, and scholars must be able to openly and freely discuss these problems. He noted the importance of scholars to be able to speak and exchange ideas freely, as only honest and frank exchanges among scholars are meaningful and productive. He also noted the huge differences in social and political systems between Finland and China, and thought that it is the scholars of that legal system to solve their respective problems with their own ways. The academic exchanges were, in his opinion, rather to tell about experiences on how the respective sides have dealt with the problems commonly faced, and what are the reflections of developments or policies concerned.
Background of Prof. Kimmo Nuotio
Prof. Kimmo Nuotio is a renowned legal scholar with Chinese collaboration experience. He is currently the professor of criminal law at University of Helsinki and is chairing the Strategic Research Council. Previously, he was the Dean of the Law Faculty at University of Helsinki between 2010–2017, and was also the chair of the board of China Law Center between 2013–2019. He also has experience in collaboration with Chinese scholars and working with Chinese materials, including several seminars given at Chinese universities and academic institutions, as well as a journal article on comparative perspectives between Finnish and Chinese law — “the transformation of criminal law and criminal law theory in Finland and China”. He also recently edited a book concerning the Belt and Road Initiative — “Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative”. He was also appointed as a member of Peking University Law School’s new Global Faculty in 2018.
In this two-part blog post, we would be reporting on the interview of Prof. Kimmo Nuotio, done by our research assistant, Ngor Sin. In the interview, Prof. Nuotio talked about how the China Law Center was first conceived and subsequently established, followed by his participation in the scholarly efforts on the Belt and Road Initiative and New Silk Road Law Schools alliance. Lastly, Prof. Nuotio recalled his personal experience and views on collaboration with Chinese scholars. Part II can be found here.
The first part of this interview blog post would cover Prof. Nuotio’s experience with the China Law Center, as well as his personal opinion on the impact and development of the work done by the Center. In the second part, we would cover Prof. Nuotio’s participation in collaboration with Chinese scholars in general, as well as his recent involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative scholarly efforts and the New Silk Road Alliance of Law Schools.
The birth of China Law Center
Prof. Nuotio first recalled how the idea of establishing the China Law Center came about. In 2009, the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS Law) and the Academy of Finland agreed to collaborate in the field of comparative law, related to rule of law topics. Such collaboration resulted in several comparative law conferences held among Finnish and Chinese legal scholars, which has become a tradition since. Details of the conferences are reported on our blog: 2019, 2018, 2017).
According to Prof. Nuotio, the actual plan of building a China Law Center has been materialised in 2012-2013. Given the increase in collaboration, it has been noted that a coordinating unit between Finnish institutions and Chinese institutions is needed. Therefore, around 2012, discussions regarding the establishment of such unit initiated among the Finnish institutions, and the Center was formally launched in 2013. While the Center is based at the University of Helsinki, the whole Sino-Finnish collaboration, including the establishment of the Center, is a joint effort among all the Finnish institutions, which eventually become members of the Center.
Representatives of the Center, the Academy of Finland and the Faculty of Law of University of Helsinki visited Peking University Law School in 2013
Impact and other Thoughts about the China Law Center
On the questions regarding the impact of the China Law Center on Sino-Finnish collaboration, Prof. Nuotio is very positive about the Center’s work. He referred the Center as a national center for coordination of Sino-Finnish research efforts in legal sciences. Another notable achievement that the Center has obtained would be the China Law Center collection, which has been built with the assistance of the Center’s Chinese partners, notably Faculty of Law of Peking University, and is currently hosted by the University of Helsinki Library.
On the impacts that the China Law Center might have been exerting on the scholarly scene, Prof. Nuotio noted that research efforts are usually not easily quantifiable. Instead, it is the existence of the China Law Center that leads to many other possible Sino-Finnish collaboration. In his opinion, the China Law Center presents an alternative to the Chinese scholars on possible collaboration partners and opportunities. Through the Center, Chinese scholars have started to explore European and particularly Nordic legal tradition. Although the Center is not the only European institution engaging the same kind of work, it is the first one in the Nordic countries.
CASS President and delegation visiting the China Law Center in 2017
Prof. Nuotio remarked that the China Law Center is like a baby that he has built from scratch, since he has been involved in the establishment of the Center, and later was also heavily involved in the strategic development of the China Law Center. He is now very happy to see the Center’s current development and that it is very active in Sino-Finnish collaboration. He is also please to notice that every member institution of the Center is making the best use of the Center, and hope that this will continue under the new leadership of the Center’s Board.
In the next part, we will talk about Prof. Nuotio’s personal experience in Chinese collaborations and his recent involvement the Belt and Road Initiative-related projects.
Background of Prof. Kimmo Nuotio
Prof. Kimmo Nuotio is a renowned legal scholar with Chinese collaboration experience. He is currently the professor of criminal law at University of Helsinki and is chairing the Strategic Research Council. Previously, he was the Dean of the Law Faculty at University of Helsinki between 2010–2017, and was also the chair of the board of China Law Center between 2013–2019. He also has experience in collaboration with Chinese scholars and working with Chinese materials, including several seminars given at Chinese universities and academic institutions, as well as a journal article on comparative perspectives between Finnish and Chinese law — “the transformation of criminal law and criminal law theory in Finland and China”. He also recently edited a book concerning the Belt and Road Initiative — “Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative”. He was also appointed as a member of Peking University Law School’s new Global Faculty in 2018.
We want to bring you a great news today by presenting you the latest entries in the China Law Center Collection, kindly hosted and managed by the University of Helsinki library in Kaisa-talo! These new Chinese and English entries are donated by our partner institutions, notably Peking University, and they are going to enrich the already wide array of collection items. In this blog post, we will give you a full tour of these new entries — their details in general, and how to find them electronically and physically!
Until November, there are 39 new items entered in the China Law Center Collection for the year 2019. These items are donated to the Center from our partner institutions, notably from Peking University. In order to introduce these new items, let us start with some numbers:
Most of the English new items are entry-level textbooks for readers that would like to have an introductory view on Chinese legal system, but there are also some in-depth analysis of recent Chinese legal developments, such as the commentary on State Secret Law, Civil Procedural Law and Corporate Governance. Regarding the Chinese books, there are many high-quality publications on in-depth analysis of Chinese legal theories and the Chinese legal system, such as several publications on research about management of state-owned enterprises and other assets (2007, 2010, 2011), a publication on civil servant and their transparency, as well as two important works on human rights law (first and second editions).
Among the new items, there are quite a number of books about Chinese legal system and Chinese legal theories, both in general and specific topics. These include works on development of Chinese legal system, from the dawn of civilization all the way up to modern developments (such as in securities law and civil justice).
You can find these new items, together with the whole China Law Center Collection, either through online database (Helka) or by visiting Kaisa-talo at University of Helsinki.
For Helka, all the books and materials in the China Law Center collection can be looked up by entering search terms in the search bar or, using this link to instantly get the required parameters in Helka. Or, you can limit the call number in your advanced search to be “hc 4. krs oikeustiede china law center collection”.
For the physical collection, the Collection is located on the 4/F of Kaisa-talo library, at the end of the Law catalogue, on the side facing Fabianinkatu (See map with this link).
Yes! This unique Chinese-Finnish collaboration work might interest you:
Name (Chinese):
法制改革与法治发展 : 中国与芬兰的比较
Name (English):
Legal reform and the development of rule of law: a comparison between China and Finland
Editors:
Chen, Su and Liukkunen, Ulla
Published Year
2019
Publisher:
Social Science Academic Press/
社会科学文献出版社
Classification
Jurisprudence – Legal Philosophy
Summary:
This is a collection of research output presented in the 8th and 9th Sino-Finnish Comparative Law Seminars, co-hosted by Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS) Institute of Law and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki. These research output included popular topics among the legal development and scholarly fields of Finland and China, namely legal reform and development; sustainable development and environmental regulatory regime; Internet, AI and responses from the legal system; and compilation and amendment of civil code. The editors believed that this publication would encourage Sino-Finnish legal cultural exchange and comparative reference to the legal systems of both countries, would provide beneficial theoretical and knowledge basis for furthering Sino-Finnish legal development.
HU Library Call No.
Hc 4. krs Oikeustiede China Law Center Collection Fazhi
I have a question about the China Law Center Collection. Where should I contact?
If the question concerns the collection itself, or you have question regarding research or library-related stuff, please contact the relevant librarian and staff at the University of Helsinki library. You can find their contact information here.
Questions regarding the China Law Center can be forwarded to the Center, via the contact methods listed here.
Before the end of the blog post, we have to thank deeply both the University of Helsinki library staff, as well as the China Law Center interns for lending extra hands in processing and transporting these new items to the library! Without their immense help, these new items would not be able to be provided to the public with such speed and accuracy.
Thanks the interns and the library staff for taking care of the Collection!
On 29 November 2019, Björn Ahl, Professor from University of Cologne and President of the European China Law Studies Association, gave a guest lecture at the Finnish China Law Center. The topic of his presentation was ‘Judicialization in Authoritarian Regimes: The Expansion of Powers of the Chinese Supreme People’s Court’.
Professor Björn Ahl aimed to demonstrate how the Chinese constitutional system works and what the position and function of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) are through this lecture. He firstly introduced the global phenomenon of the 20th-century judicialization, under which, judicialization can be distinguished into two forms: expansion of the courts’ scope of action at the expense of politics, and the absorption of methods of judicial decision-making by other executive and legislative state organs.
The development of judicialization has been seen in three layers. First, legal discourses, legal terminology, legal rules, and procedures diffuse into processes of judicial decision-making. Then, courts expand their competence and increase their influence over the outcomes of political possesses. And finally, courts decide important political questions. These can be reflected from the development of the Chinese legal system. While some scholars stated that there was no judicialization in the authoritarian legal system, Professor Ahl contended that the strengthened rule of law in China can also be observed in the development of other constitutional systems.
Professor Björn Ahl, Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki, 29 November 2019
As a One-party system concentrates powers of decision-making in the organs of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and in the executive organs of the state, Chinese courts, particularly the SPC become an integral part of the party-state structure and political institutions. This, as Professor Ahl presented, has led to some special feature of a limited and reversible judicialization in China as dynamics have been seen as intrinsically local’ and courts rely on party support and active engagement of administrative agencies under administrative litigation.
As for the SPC, Professor Ahl said that motivated by institutional self-interest, it was now less influenced by party leadership or legal reform ideologies and had transformed into a relatively autonomous policy-making organization. He then analyzed from four aspects of SPC: Fundamental rights in courts, self-empowerment through judicial interpretations, guiding cases mechanism, and mandatory death penalty review power, in which Professor Ahl emphasized the last three aspects and how they worked under the current special constitutional structure in China as a reflection of the strengthening of the SPC’s power.
Professor Björn Ahl finally concluded that Chinese judicialization bore significant differences from the judicialization in liberal constitutional systems. According to this opinion, judicialization in China has its own characteristics. The SPC still operates as an ‘active lawmaker’ even though it possessed parallel law-making powers, and has no ultimate power of decision-making on critical problems in society. As SPC’s power increasing, political decision-making of other actors of the party-state would not be changed into more rule-based judicial forms of decision making.
The text is contributed by the Center’s intern, Ms. Xiaodan Zhang who is completing her Masters in International and Comparative Law (International Business Law) at the University of Helsinki.
Globalization has brought about situations where which different bodies of law become increasingly intertwined beyond traditional borders. Legal experts and scholars are now required to examine the content of national, international, European, and transnational laws when they apply norms.
In order to deliver the most practical knowledge and insight into the increasing globalization of law and legal thinking, University of Helsinki, a member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, sets up a new master’s programme called Global Governance Law (GGL).
The two-year long research-oriented Master’s programme offers series of lectures, seminars and interactive tutorials built by internationally distinguished experts in their fields. It is designed to provide solid foundation and skills to prepare students for expert duties in public administration, international organizations, NGO, law firms, corporate legal departments, and legal academia. During their study, programme participants will be able to specialize in key fields of law are of particular interest to them such as Global Governance Law, Public International Law, European Union Law, Global Administrative Law, Human Rights Law, International Institutions, Finance and the Environment, and Business and Company Law.
“The Master’s programme also provides the opportunity to study Chinese law, rarely on offer in faculties of law”, said Päivi Leino-Sandberg, Professor of Transnational European Law and Director of GGL. The Director of the Finnish China Law Center, Professor Ulla Liukkunen is in charge of the Chinese law stream of GGL which provides courses on the following subjects:
Chinese legal system: history and presence
Business and Company law: governing economics
China in international organisations – transnational governance
Corporate social responsibility and fundamental labour rights in China
The application period for the programme begins on 03 Dec 2019 at 08.00 (UTC+2), and ends on 10 Jan 2020 at 15.00 (UTC+2). For information about the application process and how to apply, please visit the programme website.
Teaching staff of the Master’s Programme in Global Governance Law: Jaakko Husa (on the left), Heikki Pihlajamäki, Päivi Leino-Sandberg, Ida Koivisto, Sakari Melander and Marianna Muravyeva. Photo credit: Mika Federley.
University of Helsinki
