Finnish China Law Center in 2022 – What to expect?

In 2022, the Center’s mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law will return with three events that deal with the themes of public international law, IP law and maritime law. The first seminar on Standard Essential Patents in China will be held in collaboration with IPR University Center on 23 March 2022. Further China related events about selected themes in IP law will be arranged with IPR University Center in the future.

During Spring term 2022, the following Chinese law courses will be taught within the Global Governance Law Master’s Programme at the University of Helsinki Faculty of Law, one of our member institutions:

  • Comparative law and Chinese legal system: history and presence by Professor Björn Ahl

The course is designed to help students gain an understanding of comparative law approaches used in examining culturally different law and knowledge of the historical background and contemporary development of the Chinese legal system and its key characteristics.

  • China in International Organisations – Transnational Governance by Dr. Kangle Zhang

The course will focus on China’s role in major international organisations, especially WTO, and transnational governance as well as the influence of international organisations on the Chinese legal system and regulatory models.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Law in China by doctoral candidate Yuan Li

The course aims to provide the students with a comprehensive overview of Chinese sustainable development strategy and its related policies and legal regulations. The course examines relevant corporate social responsibility and sustainability laws from the perspective of Chinese and Western multinational enterprises operating in China.

  • Chinese Business and Company law: Governing Finance and the Economy by Dr. Kangle Zhang.

The course explores the Chinese financial market and financial regulations, Chinese business and financial regulations in the global context, Chinese business law and company law and legal institutions that oversee business entities in China.

The Center and the University of Helsinki Faculty of Law will also continue to organize the internship course in which the students will contribute to Chinese law-related activities undertaken through the Center and the Faculty.

On the verge of 2022, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Center’s friends and followers for having supported us in 2021.  We wish you all a Happy New Year and hope to see you again in 2022 with many more academic activities await.

Make sure to follow us on our social media channels to stay updated!

Recent developments in Chinese Labor Law

On 22 November 2021, the Finnish China Law Center held an online mini seminar on the topic of “Recent developments in Chinese Labor Law”. The event was part of the Center’s new mini seminar series on topic issues of Chinese law. The seminar was chaired by Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki and the Director of the Finnish China Law Center.

The seminar began with a presentation by Ronald Brown, Law Professor at the University of Hawai’i Law School on “Potpourri: Offshore Views of China’s Labor Laws and Practices”. Domestically, Professor Brown explained how labour laws in China are good on paper, however, are a work in progress, since there are significant inconsistencies in labour practices and enforcement. From the offshore perspective, he discussed the impact of domestic labour law on trade and investments. As an example, he noted how domestic Chinese labour practices can have cross-border impacts where they are carried to third countries through investments such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

The second presentation was held by Tianyu Wang, Associate Director of the Social Law Department of the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on the topic “The internet platform labour law in China: The Rise, Controversy, and Policy Trends”. He noted that internet service platforms offer vast new opportunities in jobs and careers in China and introduced the four different organizational platforms in China. Professor Wang outlined the new legal challenges that the rise of platform work presents in labour law. Notably, the Chinese courts are faced with the difficulty in differentiating the type of relationships between platform workers and platforms as employers. He observed that in cases, the Chinese courts often rule that this relationship is a civil one rather than a labour relationship subsequently ignoring the control that platforms have over the workers.

The third presentation was held by Professor Ulla Likkunen on “Decent Work and SDG 8 – Observations of Chinese Approach”. Professor Liukkunen discussed how SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth can add value to labour law since it is directly connected with the work of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, which reaffirms the objective of social justice. She discussed how China has developed the decent work programme by efforts related to increasing the quantity and quality of employment, promoting and extending social protection in the workplace and strengthening the rule of law and realization of fundamental principles and rights at work. She noted how work still needs to be done to implement decent work in China. Importantly, although China has not ratified all ILO fundamental conventions, all member states of the ILO including China should respect, realize and promote the ILO declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work regardless of the state of ratification.

The final presentation was held by Yan Tian, Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean at Peking University Law School on “A Constitutional Theory of Workplace Discipline in China”. Professor Tian outlined how Article 53 of the Chinese Constitution lists the duty of workplace discipline. Unlike most Constitutions, the Chinese one lists both the rights and duties of citizens. He explained how the Article has socialist roots in raising the consciousness of citizens in discipline, since factories were seen as an extension of the state. Progressively workplace discipline has evolved with China moving towards a market economy and capitalization to restrict the employers right to punish. The Article has thus evolved with the state only partially siding with employers and adopting a “preventative” or “educative” take on workplace discipline rather than punishment.

This blog post was written by the Center’s intern, Annette Rapo.

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio giving guest lecture on Criminal Law and Sustainable Development at PKU Law School

Professor Kimmo Nuotio on 2 November 2021

On 2 November 2021, Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Board Member of the Finnish China Law Center held a guest lecture on Criminal Law and Sustainable Development as part of the PKU Law School Distinguished Global Faculty Lecture series. Professor Nuotio is a renowned legal scholar with extensive Chinese collaboration experience and a Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Helsinki. The Global Faculty lectures series is an opportunity for expert legal scholars to share thoughts and in-depth perspectives, whilst nurturing global awareness among students.

Within his lecture, Professor Nuotio examined how the notions of criminal law and sustainable developments have not often been linked to each other and calls for further discussion of this relationship. Examples such as environmental criminal law and corporate liability were discussed from this point of view. He outlined how according to the European view, criminal law should not be measured against purely instrumental values, therefore as a means to an end, since a state- or society-oriented view on criminal justice would risk the capability of criminal law to stand for individual freedoms and liberties. Professor Nuotio, however, noted that it is fair to consider how criminal law could best be used to support societal development. In his lecture, Professor Nuotio posed and examined several questions such as it is fair to ask about how criminal law could best be used to support societal development and whether the notion of sustainability actually adds anything new? Finally, the role of criminal law in regard to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals was discussed.

This blog post was written by the Center’s intern, Annette Rapo.

European China Law Studies Association’s map on Chinese law taught in Europe

The European China Law Studies Association (ECLS) was founded in 2006 to advance the research on Chinese law. It has since become a notable international venue for all the scholars and practitioners interested in Chinese law.

Besides blog posts, annual conferences, and many other events, the ECLS is gathering information about Chinese law taught in Europe. The map on the ECLS website aims to cover all the study programs and elective courses which are focusing on Chinese law. The current map shows over 20 courses in 13 different countries.

However, the map is yet to be completed. Institutions in Europe that offer Chinese law courses are welcome to update  their information on the current map by sending an email to Marianne von Blomberg (m.vonblomberg@uni-koeln.de).

This blog post was written by the Center’s intern, Samppa Penttinen.

Smart Courts and the Informatization of China’s Judicial System

On 25 October 2021, the Finnish China Law Center held an online mini seminar on the topic of ‘Smart Courts and the Informatization of China’s Judicial System’. The event is part of the Center’s new mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law.

Professor Johanna Niemi, 25 October 2021

The seminar was chaired by Johanna Niemi, Professor of Procedural Law at University of Turku and Board Member of the Finnish China Law Center.

The seminar began with a presentation by Björn Ahl, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne on ‘The Development of Chinese Smart Courts within the Broader Context of Judicial Reform’. He remarked that as China is currently at the forefront of technical and digital development, its experience in smart courts and judicial reform would be a good subject for comparative study.

Professor Björn Ahl, 25 October 2021

Professor Ahl started with an introduction on the description of smart courts. In a smart court, litigation activities are carried out online with limited human interference. Software applications, algorithms and big-data analytics are used to support the judicial process.  He noted that the smart courts form a small part of the overall policy toward judicial informalization. The objective of judicial informatization and smart courts is to create a more just and fairer judiciary, more consistent adjudication and better monitoring and supervision of cases. Professor Ahl also gave some examples of the applications utilized in smart courts including systems that can automatically draw analogy between similar cases to provide in-depth materials and guidance in decision-making for judges to review and those that to systems that can process and cross-examine case texts and parties’ information to determine if there are any overlapping procedures.

Professor Wen Xiang, 25 October 2021

The second presentation titled ‘The Rise of Smart Courts in China: A Pathway to E-justice in the Digital Age?’ was given by Wen Xiang, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Copenhagen. He explained that the reason behind the need for smart courts in China is the sharp increase of cases which places heavy burden on judges. Since 2013, China has initiated the informatization of courts. Internet courts were established in Hangzhou (2017), Beijing (2018) and Guangzhou (2018). Professor Xiang then gave a brief introduction of four of the techniques that have been employed in smart courts including electronic case-filing, remote trial, online mediation platform and electronic delivery system. He stated that smart courts have the potential to promote quality of justice, improve judicial efficiency, provide convenience for the people, and build judicial big data system.

In their presentations, both Professors expressed concerns regarding potential bias in algorithms in smart courts, possible inaccuracy in algorithm-based and data-based decision-making mechanisms, uncertainties about the influence  of private developers on the deliver of justice, lack of guideline on data security and protection of privacy, and unequal access to technology.

 

 

11th Sino-Finnish Bilateral Seminar on Comparative Law: Sustainable Development and Role of Regulation

On 11-12 October 2021, the China Law Center together with Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) organized the 11th Sino-Finnish Bilateral Seminar on Comparative Law. This year, the seminar was centered around the theme of Sustainable Development and Role of Regulation.

Professor Mo Jihong, Director of CASS Law Institute (left) and Professor Xie Zengyi, Deputy Director of CASS Law Institute (right)
Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

The seminar began with opening words from Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Chair of the Board of the Finnish China Law Center, and Professor Mo Jihong, Director of CASS Law Institute. Both emphasized the significance of sustainability to society and development as well as the role of the seminar as a platform to exchange knowledge and broaden the understanding of the legal systems in China, Finland and Europe and how each tackles essential and also very complex issues in sustainable development and regulation. During the opening ceremony, Professor Björn Ahl, President of the European China Law Studies Association and Visiting Professor at the University of Helsinki, shared his thoughts and experience on the challenges and opportunities of research of Chinese law in Europe.

Professor Björn Ahl, University of Cologne, Visiting Professor at the University of Helsinki

The first session of the seminar dealt with sustainable development and role of regulation. The session began with a presentation by Associate Professor Li Xia on ‘Transformation of Regulatory Objectives and Methods in Risk Society: A Case Study of Safety Regulation in Hazardous Chemicals Industry’.  Assistant Professor Lin Xiaoxiao next addressed the general clauses in the Chinese Tort Law and Civil Code on environmental tort issues, punitive compensation and responsibility for environmental damages. Next, Professor Matti Nojonen discussed a different interpretation of Chinese tradition on self, freedom and humaneness as societal process. Finally, Professor Pia Letto talked about difficulties of legal comparisons. Especially challenging is the comparison between European and non-European legal systems and institutions.

Assistant Professor Lin Xiaoxiao (left) and Associate Professor Li Xia (right), CASS Law Institute
Professor Matti Nojonen, University of Lapland

The second session covered sustainable business models and their regulation. In his presentation, Professor Zhao Lei looked into three dimensions of the revision of Chinese Corporate Law including its functions, practices, and position in coordination with other laws.  Professor Jukka Mähönen gave an overview of the EU business regulation and sustainable finance initiative as  tools to activise sustainable business through his presentation titled ‘Sustainability in European Union Business Regulation’. Assistant Professor Tang Linyao discussed the commercial and legal prospects of privacy-by-design, taking privacy-preserving computation regulation as an example. Lastly, Dr Heli Korkka-Knuts explored the role of behavioural regulatory design in optimization of corporate crime prevention and support of global sustainability transformation.

Professor Jukka Mähönen, University of Helsinki
Associate Professor Lu Chao (left) and Assistant Professor Tang Linyao (right), CASS Law Institute
Dr. Heli Korkka-Knuts, University of Helsinki

The third session focused on environment protection, rights and regulatory approaches. Professor Liu Hongyan talked about the inclusion of ecological civilization to the amendment of the Constitution and new development of environmental rule by law in China. Dr. Seita Romppanen discussed the role of law in sustainability transitions and identidied avenues for further legal research on the role of law in sustainability transitions. Next, Assistant Professor Yue Xiaohua presented the regulation path and implementation mechanism of green consumption in China while Dr. Tiina Paloniitty assessed the role of environmental law and governance as a core of sustainability law.

Dr. Seita Romppanen, University of Eastern Finland
Assistant Professor Yue Xiaohua (left) and Professor Liu Hongyan (right), CASS Law Institute
Dr. Tiina Paloniitty, University of Helsinki

The last session of the seminar covered decent work and the protection of platform workers in China, Finland and EU. This session saw two presentations: one from Professor Ulla Liukkunen under the title ‘Fundamental Labour Rights and Platform Work – A Cross-border Perspective’ and the other from Associate Professor Wang Tianyu under the title ‘Toward the Tripartite Laws of Labor – A Chinese Solution for the Protection of
Platform Workers’ Rights and Interests’.

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, University of Helsinki
Professor Xie Zengyi (left) and Associate Professor Wang Tianyu (right), CASS Law Institute

 

New mini seminar series – Topical issues of Chinese law

The China Law Center is pleased to announce the launch of a new mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law. The series gathers esteemed scholars to present and discuss current issues, trends and challenges in different topics of Chinese law and legal culture.

The series aims to deepen knowledge on specific topics of Chinese law and legal culture and provide a chance for discussion with experts from the field. It also seeks to encourage students and young scholars with passion for Chinese law and legal culture to further learn about the latest information related to the their subject of interest and research.

The events are free of charge and open for anyone with an interest in Chinese law and legal culture.

The first three seminars will address different aspects of Chinese smart courts and judicial system (October 2021), labour law (November 2021) and IP law (Spring 2022). The IP law seminar will be organized in cooperation with IPR University Center.

The programmes of the events will soon be published on the Center’s web page and social media.

Stay tuned!

An interview with Professor Ronald C. Brown

The Finnish China law center had the opportunity to interview Law Professor at the University of Hawai’i Law School, Ronald C. Brown. Professor Brown is an expert in Chinese labour law with experience from several decades in various roles.  He has also personally lived and taught law in China.

How did you become interested/involved in Chinese labor law?

Before coming to Hawai’i in the 1980s Professor Brown was teaching some labor law in William & Mary Law School in Virginia. When he came to Hawai’i he got involved in international labor law. Then he took a trip to China and fell in love with the country. He was teaching at Peking University Law School and became friends with experts in Chinese labor law with whom he had opportunity to work. At that time back in the 80s Chinese labor law was only evolving. Later he put together some books on for example Chinese labor law. Professor Brown says Hawai’i was a good advantage point to reach out into China. From the U.S. it is halfway there.

During your long career, what are the most important moments of understanding or single findings considering Chinese legal culture?

Professor Brown tells that he has become aware of China by living there, meeting people, and having university colleagues and neighbors. ”I think the moment of understanding comes from just getting to know people and realizing that the Chinese are just a lot like us. Politics are politics in America and in China. But the people are real.” Professor Brown adds that he always loved the Chinese and their Irish-like good sense of humor. He mentions the Chinese phrase ”can I eat it” when talking about ideas and concepts. At first he did not understand the phrase but found out it was about how useful the information was.

On legal system, Professor Brown got involved early on with the Chinese legal institutions. In the 80s, Professor Brown worked together with a Chinese Law Professor keeping up with the new Chinese legislation. They soon had a room full of new laws that were evolving. It became clear that at Deng´s time there was legalization going on and Professor Brown says he was lucky enough to watch it and be a little bit part of it.

You have published broadly about labor law and economic relations considering not only USA, EU and China but also for example Russia and Latin America. From a global perspective, what do you think are the main strengths and weaknesses of Chinese legal culture? What could other legal systems learn from the Chinese?

As back in the 80s the Chinese basically had some leftover laws from Mao, Professor Brown considers it amazing how rapidly the Chinese were able to evolve and professionalize a whole legal system. In his opinion the Chinese labor laws are wonderful but there are problems in enforcement. Other Chinese characteristics he mentions are commerce-skills and sensitively protective attitude towards their sovereignty. Professor Brown also thinks the Chinese have good sensitivity towards everyday citizens even though there are logistic problems with 1.4 billion population. He reminds how China has lifted millions of people out of poverty.

Do you think fundamental differences between Chinese and Western contract conceptions and legal systems in general cause issues when drafting FTAs?

Professor Brown starts his answer by telling how the analytical thinking process of the Chinese differs from the Americans. He compares it with water going down the sink in the opposite direction. They might reach the same results using different thinking process. According to Professor Brown, the Chinese legal system has a bit civil law and maybe a touch of common law but he emphasizes the Chinese characteristics coming from China´s special history. ”Whatever comes out at the end of the day in China is Chinese for sure, legally speaking”, he laughs. He thinks FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) reflect that as well and from Chinese point of view ”commerce is commerce and labor is labor”. Therefore, China doesn´t see labor provisions belonging to FTAs and their FTAs with other Asian countries tend to have no labor provisions included. However, the FTAs with some larger developed countries must contain labor provisions.

Where in your opinion lay mainly the historical roots of Chinese contemporary labor relations? How do you see the role of Chinese imperial history and foreign influences?

First, Professor Brown notes that he is not a Chinese historian. In his class on Chinese labor law, he starts from Mao who took a lot from Russia. Then in the 80s and 90s came legalization by Deng. During his times teaching in Peking University Law School he got to know surprisingly that the Germans had had their influence too. They had been early advisors in the development of Chinese labor law. For political reasons, China might avoid too straight western influences.

Professor Brown stresses the importance of historical understanding of Chinese law. ”When you look at the Chinese law you can´t just look at it on the face. You have to have a little bit of sense of how it evolved, where it came from, how the Chinese legal people are interpreting that.” He uses contract as an example. In China, contracts are not as fixed as in the U.S. They are more like living relationships that change over time. Another cultural-historical Chinese specialty he mentions is guanxi, the question of how close is it to corruption.

Professor Brown concludes his answer by stating how fascinating it is to follow Chinese legal development. ”It is so enjoyable. China is so varied and so different and so always coming up with something new.”

The interview and report were done by the Center’s intern, Elias Jakala.

 

Matti Nojonen on Xunzi’s practical philosophy of governance; concepts of rites (li), law (fa) and social order and contemporary Chinese Party-State

On 24 May 2021, Professor Matti Nojonen from the University of Lapland gave a guest lecture on ”Xunzi´s practical philosophy of governance, concepts of rites (li), law (fa) and social order and contemporary Chinese Party-State”. During his lecture, Professor Nojonen gave an interesting insight into Xunzi´s (c. 300 – c. 235 BC) thinking and the concepts of li and fa. Apart from the historical discussion, Professor Nojonen also talked about the Chinese contemporary trend to value Confucianism. At the end of the lecture, he gave answers to questions arising from the audience.

Professor Matti Nojonen, 24 May 2021

Xunzi was an important Confucian thinker after Confucius (551 – 479 BC) and Mencius (372 – 289 BC). Xunzi lived in the ”Warring States era” when there was more social disorder compared to Confucius´ times. He wrote a comprehensive book ”Xunzi”. As Professor Nojonen pointed out, Confucianism is not a static philosophy. Xunzi in his part also modified it. In general, Professor Nojonen reminded that the concepts in China differ from western concepts. Chinese concepts are more practical and not so clearly defined. Traditional Chinese does not even have a word for concepts and they can be verbs at the same time.

Xunzi was influenced by the Jixia Academy of his era. The question of how to bring order to society was important to him. Li (rite, ritual) was already a Confucian concept but Xunzi developed a full theory of li. According to Xunzi´s theory of li, human nature is evil and humans are driven by certain desires and inborn emotions. Therefore, Xunzi´s view on humans born evil differs from Mencius´ more idealistic view on humans being potentially good. In Xunzi´s theory, li is the tool to control the desires and emotions humans are born with. However, because it is a rather vague concept, it is any ruler’s monopoly, but also his responsibility to define li for his people, which makes li a practical and deliberate tool of governance.

An example of li coupled with other concepts is liyi with yi meaning „justice/righteousness“. Yi is what differs humans from animals. However, according to Xunzi, humans are born evil and without yi, but they can attain liyi by studying and thereby handle their evil desires. Professor Nojonen pointed out how Xunzi´s view differed again from Mencius’: Mencius saw studying as a way to become good while Xunzi saw it as an instrument to control evil. Xunzi stressed the importance of wei (conscious activity) and not leaving one´s fate to the hands of tian (heaven or nature). Another related concept is fen (distinction of social classes). According to Xunzi, people should stay in their social classes, as that makes them understand justice and easier to control.

For Xunzi, li was not enough to govern. Fa (law, regulation) was needed too in maintaining social order. Fa can be understood as a method of governance that constrains the behavior of people, especially with the penal code. It is therefore the „backbone“ that lies underneath li and stabilizes the society. One of Xunzi´s students, Hanfeizi, was a founding father of legalism, which led to the rough legalist Qin-dynasty, which only lasted for 17 years. However, Xunzi differed from strict legalism because he thought that fa is subordinate to li. A symbiotic relationship between li and fa can be seen as Xunzi´s legacy.

Professor Nojonen talked about the recent ”turn to own classics” in China. Xi Jinping has been the driving force of it. He has, for example, visited the birthplace of Confucius and has given a speech on Confucius´ 2.565th birthday. Professor Nojonen also discussed contemporary Party-State interplaying li and fa in the Xuncian sense. In his summary remarks, Professor Nojonen stressed the importance of Xunzi for the Chinese culture. Only the Xuncian insertion of fa made the idealistic, li-based Confucianism an efficient and practical ideology of governance.

This blog post was written by the Center’s interns, Elias Jakala and Johanna Fähnrich.

 

Professor Jason Chuah on the continuing development of maritime law in the PRC

Professor Ellen J. Eftestøl, 20 April 2021

On Tuesday 20 April 2021, Professor Jason Chuah from the City University of London gave a guest lecture on the topic of ‘An Inquiry into the Continuing Development of Maritime Law in the PRC’ at the Finnish China Law Center. The lecture was chaired and commented on by Ellen J. Eftestøl, Professor of Civil and Commercial Law at the University of Helsinki.

 

Professor Jason Chuah, 20 April 2021

Professor Chuah opened the lecture by giving an overview of the current status of maritime law and jurisprudence in the PRC. Since the jurisdiction of maritime courts was enlarged in 2016, there has been a generally high number of maritime court cases: over 95.000 between 2015 and 2017. More than 6.000 of these cases are foreign-related, meaning that in a lot of them, the parties choose an applicable law that is more advantageous to them than the Chinese. While the PRC courts generally respect the parties’ choice of applicable law, some courts use Chinese law to fill in legal gaps, which is conflicting with international principles. However, the Supreme People’s Court has issued a new guideline in 2020 that strongly advises courts not to fill in gaps with PRC law when dealing with pandemic-related cases. Furthermore, it is sometimes unclear how many countries are involved in one single contract. If the chosen law has no sufficient connection to the case, PRC courts may argue that the clause is unenforceable, unless it is explicitly exclusive. While in EU countries, the exclusivity of such clauses is presumed, that is not the case in the PRC, which sometimes leads to disputes between the parties and the Chinese courts.

Professor Chuah continued with a short comparison of the judicial systems in the PRC and the UK. Whereas in the UK, the guiding precedent doctrine binds judges to follow court decisions made by higher courts, the PRC has no such common law system. However, in 2020, China has issued new guidance that advises courts to apply principles and rules uniformly and follow previous court decisions to prevent conflicting decisions within the PRC. In 2000, the legislation law came into force, which is intended to help drive the modernization of PRC laws forward. It states that laws shall be made in compliance with the basic principles laid down in the constitution, and encourages a policy of „opening to the outside world“, which clearly shows China’s efforts to connect and align its judiciary with other countries.

Professor Chuah closed with a case study on the „bill of lading“, which is a document issued by a carrier of goods and that is the basis for ensuring that exporters receive payment and importers receive the merchandise. Usually, the bill, after it was given to the exporter, gets transferred to the buyer, who is often located in a foreign country. This procedure raises two main problems. The first one is the question of the „original“ document. In line with many other technological advances in the PRC, the bill of lading is nowadays often an electronic document instead of a paper. However, the Chinese maritime law is still very paper-oriented and does not adjust fast enough to these new devices. Professor Chuah emphasized the need to revise the PRC maritime law, starting with redefining the term of originality. The second challenge with the bill of lading is the right to sue. It is common practice internationally that with the transfer of the bill, one gives up their right to sue the carrier. However, some PRC courts have decided the opposite way. Professor Chuah explains this with the fact that the persons transferring the bill of lading are mostly exporters. China as an exporting country wants to protect its exporters and local businesses and therefore interprets the bill transfer differently in order to preserve the exporters’ right to sue. In conclusion, it is noticeable that the PRC has made enormous progress in terms of aligning its jurisprudence with international standards, even though it is not a party of the international conventions on maritime law. However, the PRC courts sometimes interpret international rules differently, which is mostly due to the different political and legal history as well as the fact that Chinese private rules are often hard to combine with international methods. It will be interesting to see if China will sign up to the Rotterdam rules and what impact that would have, since the rules are intended to be much more recognizing of technological advances and current shipping practices.

This blog post was written the Center’s intern, Johanna Fähnrich.

 

Introducing the Nordic Network on Chinese Thought

The Centre would like to inform its readers of the establishment of the new Nordic Network on Chinese Thought (NNCT) based at the University of Lapland. The NNCT is founded by Professor Matti Nojonen (University of Lapland), Dr. Jyrki Kallio (Finnish Institute of International Affairs) and Professor emeritus Torbjörn Lodén (University of Stockholm). The idea is to create an open and transparent platform that connects Nordic researchers on Chinese thought on a more regular basis than just once a year.

The network’s objective is to open discussion and dialogue on philosophical questions relating to China, as well as for sharing research ideas, papers, and manuscripts. It aims at bringing together not only senior scholars but also young researchers and students in the Nordic region who study or work on classical and modern Chinese philosophy and Chinese thought. The NNCT will also advance collaboration with prominent Chinese philosophers.

The activities of the NNCT include seminars, workshops, study events, and lectures in the field of Chinese thought on topics such as the role of concepts in traditional Chinese philosophy and thought. Through the network, scholars and students shall have the opportunity to expand their network and learn different approaches to Chinese thought from other members.

In this and next autumns, two new 5-credit courses on Chinese thoughts will be organized by the University of Lapland. They will deal with classical Chinese language and textual reading on classical Chinese philosophy.  The courses, one offered in Finnish and the other in English, will provide students with knowledge and insight into different fields of Chinese philosophy. Students in the courses are welcome to attend events of the NNCT.

The inaugural seminar of NNCT will be organized on the 20th of April, at 10 AM to 12 Noon (UTC + 3).

For further information, please visit https://www.ulapland.fi/EN/Webpages/Nordic-Network-on-Chinese-Thought