Nordic scholars meeting of China law activities

A Nordic meeting of Nordic level collaboration in China law activities was held after the 10th Sino-Finnish bilateral seminar. The meeting took place at the Headquarters of the Nordic Investment Bank in Helsinki on 11 June 2019. The meeting was attended by representatives of Universities of Helsinki, Turku, Eastern Finland, Örebro, Lund, Oslo, Copenhagen and Peking.

The participants were received by the Bank’s General Counsel and Head of Legal Department Heikki Cantell who gave the Nordic delegation an insightful introduction to the history, culture and mission of the Bank.

After the introduction, the delegation was given a presentation on the enforcement of transnational labour standards by international financial institutions from a Chinese perspective by Associate Professor Chen Yifeng from Peking University.

In the meeting, the participants discussed developing Nordic China law cooperation in terms of research and education activities where synergy could be sought by joint activities. Professor Ulla Liukkunen introduced recent Center activities that have a Nordic dimension. Several future opportunities were discussed and will be developed further under the preparation of the China Law Center and the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki.

Front row (left to right): Assistant Professor Wen Xiang (University of Copenhagen), Associate Senior Lecturer Ana Nordberg, Professor Ulla Liukkunen (University of Helsinki), Professor Ditlev Tamm (University of Copenhagen), Associate Professor Chen Yifeng (Peking University). Back row: Mr. Heikki Cantell (General Counsel and Head of Legal Department, Nordic Investment Bank), Professor Tuomas Hupli (University of Turku), Professor Laura Ervo (Örebro University), Postdoctoral Researcher Harriet Lonka (University of Eastern Finland), Professor Jukka Mähönen (University of Helsinki & University of Oslo), Professor Matti Nojonen (University of Lapland), Professor Kimmo Nuotio (University of Helsinki), Mr. Jani Mustonen (Coordinator, Finnish China Law Center/University of Helsinki), Mr. Stuart Mooney (Executive Assistant in the Legal Department, Nordic Investment Bank). Photo credit: Pamela Schönberg.

(Thanks to Mr. Jani Mustonen for contributing text for this article).

REPORT OF THE FIRST FOUR YEARS OF THE CHINA LAW CENTER

The Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture is pleased to announce the publication of the Report on its First Four Years (2013-2016).

Cover of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture First Four Years Report Report (2013-2016).

The Report contains detailed information about the Center’s objectives and successes and the China law-related activities of its 10 member institutions.

The Report can be viewed and downloaded here.

Questions or comments about the Report are encouraged. Please direct them to Stuart Mooney, Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Peking University Vice President Visits University of Helsinki, Discusses Latest Developments in Legal Education and Research Cooperation

In a further sign of the strong and growing academic ties between the two institutions, a senior delegation from Peking University, lead by Vice President Tian Gang, has visited the University of Helsinki.

The visiting delegation included five other senior scholars and officials from the university and took place between 19 – 22 October. Peking University is consistently ranked as one of the best and most reputable higher education and research institutions globally.

The visit proved a valuable opportunity for the visiting delegation to deepen its knowledge of the University of Helsinki’s cutting-edge interdisciplinary education and research initiatives, including in the legal field, and to discuss mutual internationalization efforts.

Since 2015, Peking University has been a strategic partner of the University of Helsinki, which is one of the 10 member institutions of the Finnish China Law Center. Earlier this year, the University of Helsinki awarded Peking University a silver medal in honour of its 120th anniversary.

During the visit, the Peking University delegation met with Professor Jari Niemelä, Rector of the University of Helsinki, as well as with Vice Rector Hanna Snellman, deans of various faculties, Dr Anna-Maria Salmi, Head of Development of International Affairs, and other senior scholars from the University of Helsinki.

During a visit to the University of Helsinki, Peking University Vice President Tian Gang (pictured fourth from left) and other members of the visiting delegation met with University of Helsinki Rector Jari Niemelä (center of picture), Vice Rector Hanna Snellman (pictured third from left), Director of the Finnish China Law Center Ulla Liukkunen (pictured fourth from right in front row) and other senior scholars from the University of Helsinki.

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center and Board Member of the European China Law Studies Association 欧洲中国法研究协会, also met with the delegation and senior University of Helsinki leaders to discuss topical issues in legal education and research cooperation.

During her presentation, Professor Liukkunen noted that the Finnish China Law Center had for many years received strong input to developing its core activities from the Peking University Law School, which has worked together with the Finnish China Law Center and its member institutions on many research projects, as well as co-organized a number of international academic conferences, seminars and other events.

Professor Liukkunen also underscored her personal gratitude to friends and colleagues in Peking University Law School, including Professor Zhang Shouwen, Professor Ye Jingyi, Professor Li Ming, Professor Liang Genlin, Associate Professor Su Jiang, Assistant Professor Yan Tian and many others whose contributions have led to strong Sino-Finnish cooperation across different fields of law.

In addition, Professor Liukkunen noted that Professor Chen Yifeng of Peking University continues to play a key role in forging strong strategic legal research and education relationship between the universities, and increasingly China and the Nordic countries more broadly.

Details of the extensive legal education and research outcomes between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, including a number of Academy of Finland-funded projects, can be found in the Finnish China Law Center: Report on its First Four Years, published in 2017.

 

CASS LAW INSTITUTE, FACULTY OF LAW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI AND FINNISH CHINA LAW CENTER PLAN TO DEEPEN RESEARCH COLLABORATION

On 20 September 2018, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki and Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center met with Professor Chen Su, Director of the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to discuss plans to advance collaboration.

During the meeting, Professor Chen said he was proud of the existing collaboration and expressed CASS Law Institute’s wish to continue to deepen collaboration with ongoing facilitation and coordination carried out by the Finnish China Law Center.

Professor Chen also noted that he was pleased with the outcomes of joint research collaboration, especially labour law research and associated publications.

Professor Letto-Vanamo and Professor Chen approved further collaboration on research and publications. They also agreed to begin preparations for the co-organization of next year’s (10th) joint comparative law seminar.

Pictured (left to right): Dr Yihong Zhang (University of Helsinki); Professor Ulla Liukkunen (University of Helsinki); Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo (University of Helsinki); Professor Chen Su (CASS); Professor Ditlev Tamm (University of Copenhagen); Professor Mo Jihong (CASS); and Professor Xie Zengyi (CASS). Photo credit: CASS.

(Thanks to Dr Yihong Zhang of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki for contributing text for this article).

Finnish China Law Center Library Expands with Donation of Chinese Criminal Law Publication by Liu Renwen

Professor Liu Renwen, Director of the Criminal Law Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), has donated his latest publication to the library of the Finnish China Law Center.

The book, Multidimensional Criminal Law Science (CASS Press 2018), will be available in the China Law Collection in the main library of the University of Helsinki.

Professor Liu has previously donated various other of his many publications to the Center’s ever-growing collection of books relating to China and the law.

A leading criminal law scholar in China, Professor Liu has made a number of visits to Finland and has given public guest lectures as part of the Finnish China Law Center’s long-standing research collaboration with the Institute of Law of CASS.

He was a session moderator during the most recent Sino-Finnish Comparative Law Seminar held last month in Beijing, China.

Professor Liu Renwen of the CASS Institute of Law speaking at the 9th Sino-Finnish Comparative Law Seminar in Beijing, China. Photo credit: CASS

 

Environmental Law, Sustainability on Agenda at Comparative Law Seminar with Chinese Legal Think Tank

Reflecting a topic increasingly under public debate given the escalating effects of climate change, environmental protection featured prominently during the latest comparative law seminar organized by the Finnish China Law Center and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

This year’s seminar focused on the environment and a range of other legal and social problems of global significance, as well as on effective responses to challenges raised by the inter-related and deepening processes of globalization and digitalization.

Co-organized and hosted on 20 – 21 September 2018 by the CASS Institute of Law with the support of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki, the annual academic event was the ninth conference aimed at robust discussion of emerging legal issues of joint social and academic significance.

The seminar also serves as an important platform for Finnish legal researchers – and from this year onward, Nordic scholars more generally – to meet and deepen international cooperation.

This year’s event was held in Beijing, while last year’s seminar was hosted in Finland by two of the Finnish China Law Center’s 10 member institutions, the University of Tampere and University of Helsinki.

Environmental law and sustainability issues were canvassed in a number of presentations.

Assistant Professor Wen Xiang of the Faculty of Law of the University of Copenhagen was a member of the extended 15-person Nordic delegation, and spoke about the regulating of genone editing crops in the European Union.

Professor Wen began by noting that the first green revolution was based on high-intensive agriculture, which vastly increased crop yields from the mid-20th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, a discussion has emerged around the need for a second green revolution. This debate has arisen because of the serious issues associated with high intensity farming, including eutrophication and loss of biodiversity.

The second green revolution, according to Professor Wen, urges more environment-friendly and sustainable approaches. Recently, scientists have suggested that the domestication of new crops would promote agricultural diversity and solve many emerging environmental degradation caused by intensive agriculture.

Assistant Professor Wen Xiang speaking during the 9th Bilateral Comparative Law Seminar in Beijing, 20-21 September 2018

Domesticated crops refer to crops ‘in which the evolutionary process has been influenced by humans to meet their needs’. Professor Wen suggested that genome editing techniques (GETs) could be used as an efficient tool to accelerate the domestication of wild plants to providing enough food and livestock fodder in the future.

However, several legal issues pertaining to the feasibility of domesticating wild plants by GETs need to be addressed. Firstly, what kind of wild crops are to be domesticated and are they subject to existing international treaties such as Nagoya Protocol? Secondly, what will be the role of GETs in the process of domestication? Other questions arise arise, such whether this process should be subject to the current regulatory framework on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the EU, as well as and the implications of the ECJ ruling on GETs in July 2018.

In another presentation on environmental law, Professor Liu Hongyan of the CASS Institute of Law discussed the development of ecological rule of law in China, noting that political organizations and governmental organizations share the responsibility of supervising environmental protection in the country.

Professor Liu noted that judicial organs also actively facilitate administrative organs in enforcing environmental law. For example, the People’s Congress and the People’s Procuratorate are supervisory organs of the environmental law system and can bring up administrative litigation if needed.

The development of China’s environmental law, Professor Liu argued, has the following characteristics: First, the prevailing view is that China should build its environmental law system according to its own national conditions. Second, the development of the environmental law system is diversified. For example, some localities have become pilot points for new regulations before they are passed as laws. Third, the official position is that the enforcement of environmental law cannot be uniform, but instead should be promoted in different stages.

In another talk, Professor Ellen Eftestøl-Wilhelmsson, Professor of Civil and Commercial Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, presented with Doctoral Researcher Emilie Yliheljo on the topic of promoting environmentally sustainable through the use of emissions information.

Professor Eftestøl-Wilhelmsson and Ms Yliheljo argued that there is a political call for a behavioural change in the transport industry towards more sustainable transport solutions, and discussed whether and how information related to emissions from carriage of cargo could be used to trigger environmentally friendly decisions and the use of transport alternatives with the lowest emissions.

Observing that emission information is already used as an instrument to combat emissions from transport in the aviation sector, through the European Emission Trading System (ETS) for example, Professor Eftestøl-Wilhelmsson and Ms Yliheljo argued that transport industries outside the ETS could also use emission information to reach the climate goals set for the industry. The scholars described how this could be done by ‘pushing’ the parties to actively consider the emissions from different transport alternatives. The information might work as a ‘nudge’ towards more environmental and greener choices, with new technology providing the necessary practical means for measuring the emissions and delivering the results in real time.

Professor Ellen Eftestøl-Wilhelmssonof the University of Helsinki speaking during the 9th Bilateral Comparative Law Seminar in Beijing, 20-21 September 2018

Another scholar from the CASS Institute of Law, Lin Xiaoxiao, analyzed the environmental damage compensation regime in China.

Professor Lin observed that the legal regime of public-interest environmental litigation is mainly reflected in the revision of the Procedural Law of the Civil Litigation. However, because other laws that are relevant to environmental litigation have not been revised, it is unclear how the laws should be interpreted in public-interest environmental litigation. Recently, there has been some new legislation that regulates public-interest environmental litigation, including the Land Law.

At present, the legal regime of public-interest environmental litigation has the following characteristics: (1) The purpose of environmental litigation is to determine environmental liabilities; (2) Procedural regulations are becoming more comprehensive; and (3) Substantive legal rules need to be complemented.

Public-interest environmental litigation is usually brought by environment groups, with leading cases including the Taizhou Public-Interest Case and the Dezhou Air Pollution Case.

Professor Lin said that the current legal regime of public-interest environmental has the following problems: (1) The piloting proposal of reforming the regime of ecological environmental damage cases issued by the State Council is not fully consistent with current legal regulations: (2) The definition of ecological environmental damage is not clear; and (3) It does not provide sufficient legal basis for plaintiffs’ claims for compensation.

Professor Liu Renwen, CASS Institute of Law, co-moderated with Professor Ellen Eftestøl-Wilhelmsson of the University of Helsinki a session on environmental law during the 9th Bilateral Comparative Law Seminar in Beijing, 20-21 September 2018

In addition to environmental law, the seminar covered rule of law, legal reforms in the context of the emerging Internet-based ‘sharing’ economy, trends in Chinese and Nordic labour law and social welfare systems and civil law issues.

The timing of this year’s seminar was particularly auspicious, occurring just before the Mid-Autumn Festival, an important national holiday.

Thanks to Dr Yihong Zhang, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki, for contributing to this article. 

Finnish China Law Center to Collaborate with the Polish Research Center for Law and Economy of China

The Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture, a national umbrella organization of 10 member institutions located throughout Finland, will collaborate with the Polish Research Center for Law and Economy of China.

‘I’m pleased that the Finnish China Law Center will work with the Polish Research Center for Law and Economy of China and its School of Law and Economy of China’, says Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center.

‘It’s important for the Center to build inter-institutional and person-to-person relationships across the Nordic region and between the Nordic region and the rest of Europe’.

‘Strong relationships with our European partners complement the Center’s network of partnerships in China’, Professor Liukkunen says.

‘I look forward to working with the Center’s Director, Assistant Professor Piotr Grzebyk, to exchange information and experience about conducting China law-related research and education, and to explore deeper forms of inter-institutional cooperation’.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Chair of the Center’s Board, welcomes this initiative. ‘I have noticed rising interest in China in Polish academic circles. I visited the University of Warsaw just few weeks ago on other matters, and I was impressed about the work being done there’.

The collaboration was discussed during a visit to Finland by Maximilian Piekut, Deputy Head of the Polish Research Centre for Law and Economy of China.

Mr Piekut visited the country to discuss China law-related education and research collaboration between Poland and Finland, and to participate in Nordic China Law Week 2018. The Week was organized by the Finnish China Law Center and the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki.

The Polish Research Centre for Law and Economy of China is located within the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw.

The main objective of the Centre is to develop Sino-Polish relations in four fields: research, business, governmental cooperation and student exchange.

The goal of the Center’s activities is to enhance the quality of legal research in Poland and better implement innovative solutions in legal research for the benefit of science, business and society.

The School of Law and Economy of China, established in 2018 under the framework of the Polish Research Centre for Law and Economy of China, offers year-long interdisciplinary courses to students of all faculties, entrepreneurs and senior-level managers as well as representatives of state and local administration in charge of cooperation with their Chinese counter-parties.

The School’s program is designed to build up knowledge and understanding of the Chinese legal system, economy, culture and language. 

Applications for the School’s 2018/19 academic year close on 15 June 2018.

Photo credit: Polish Research Centre for Law and Economy of China, University of Warsaw

Annual China Law Week Bridges Nordic Academic and Social Discussions on the Significance of Law in China and China’s Role in World Affairs

Nordic China Law Week 2018 was held between 17 – 23 April in Helsinki, Finland.

The week-long program included a China Law Research Workshop, seminars on China’s Belt and Road Initiative and people management in China, guest lectures on Chinese constitutional law and Chinese intellectual property law, a Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting and more.

Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, opened the China Law Workshop and also gave a presentation on the topic ‘Taking Account of History When Researching Contemporary Law’

‘The Finnish China Law Center and the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki were pleased to organize and host this annual event’, said Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center.

‘The Center is proud to contribute to an important academic and social discussion within the Nordic region about the role and significance of law in China, and China’s increasing involvement in global affairs’, Professor Liukkunen said.

For Professor Liukkunen, the strength of Nordic China Law Week 2018 lay in the breadth and relevance of themes covered, the wide appeal of events to both the public and private sectors, and the involvement of scholars and participants from China, the Nordic region and other countries.

Professor Cheng Dawei (Renmin University), speaking about trade governance of China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative at the opening event of Nordic China Law Week 2018

‘That the events during the Week were so well-attended testifies to the fact that Nordic interest in Chinese law and the Chinese legal system continues to grow’, Professor Liukkunen said.

 

Acting Dean of Beijing Foreign Studies University Law School, Professor Yan Dong, visited Finland to speak during Nordic China Law Week 2018

‘I was particularly pleased at the diversity of participants during the Week. While the focus was primarily scholarly and academic, the organizers were careful to balance law, theory and concrete practice. This was important, including because of the Nordic business community’s deepening engagement with China’.

‘As Nordic China Law Week 2018 was organized to take account of both academic and practical perspectives, its events attracted participants not just from Nordic and Chinese academia, but also from legal practice, the Finnish corporate community – including entrepreneurs from Finland’s thriving startup scene, which is increasingly engaging with China – as well as participants from NGOs, international organizations, the media and the diplomatic community’.

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, speaking at the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting during Nordic China Law Week 2018

‘For example, over 10 nationalities were represented among the more than 80 registered participants in the China Law Research Workshop. Startup founders, ambassadors, students, Finnish government representatives, leading Nordic scholars and representatives of multinational corporations discussed how to research and apply Chinese law, including the practicalities of doing field work and conducting business in China’, Professor Liukkunen said.

Assistant Professor Yan Tian (Peking University Law School) spoke on Chinese constitutional and labour law at events during Nordic China Law Week 2018

The Finnish China Law Center is thankful for the support provided by the University of Helsinki, one of the Center’s 10 member institutions.

‘The Center is grateful to Professor Jukka Kola, Rector of the University of Helsinki, for his support of Nordic China Law Week 2018, including through holding a Rector’s Reception after one of the Week’s flagship events, the China Law Research Workshop, hosted by the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo’.

Left to right: Professor Carl Fey (Aalto University); Mr Peter Vesterbacka (entrepreneur and business figure); Professor Ulla Liukkunen (Finnish China Law Center / University of Helsinki); and Dr Wei Lu (Aalto University), speaking during a panel session at a seminar on people management China at Aalto University during Nordic China Law Week 2018

Nordic China Law Week was also supported by the Confucius Institute and Chinese Studies of the University of Helsinki.

A representative from online database provider CNKI (Tsinghua University) speaking at the Information Session on Online Chinese Legal Research in the University of Helsinki’s main library during Nordic China Law Week 2018

Summaries of the main events held during Nordic China Law Week 2018 can be found below.

Tuesday 17 April: Trade Governance of the Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Wednesday 18 April: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law

Wednesday 18 April: How Important is China’s Constitution in the Chinese Legal System?

Thursday 19 April: China Law Research Workshop

Friday 20 April: Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

Monday 23 April: Information Session on Online Chinese Legal Research

Monday 23 April: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives

More information about the Week, including media inquiries, can be directed to the Coordinator of the Center, Stuart Mooney, on stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Details on the research agenda and activities of the Finnish China Law Center can be found in the book, Finnish China Law Center: Its First Four Years (2017).

Message of Congratulations to Peking University on its 120th Anniversary

‘On behalf of the Finnish China Law Center, it is my pleasure to convey to Peking University my sincerest congratulations on the occasion of its 120th anniversary’, said Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center and Board Member of the European China Law Studies Association 欧洲中国法研究协会.

Peking University celebrated its 120th anniversary on 4 May 2018. Congratulations have also been extended to Peking University by the University of Helsinki, one of the 10 member institutions of the Finnish China Law Center, which noted that since 2015 Peking University has been a strategic partner of the University of Helsinki.

‘From the beginning, the Finnish China Law Center has received significant input to developing its core activities from the Peking University Law School, which has worked together on many research projects and co-organized a number of international academic events with the Center and its member institutions’, Professor Liukkunen said.

‘I would like to congratulate in particular my friends and colleagues from Peking University Law School, including Professor Zhang Shouwen, Professor Ye Jingyi, Professor Li Ming, Professor Liang Genlin, Associate Professor Su Jiang, Assistant Professor Yan Tian and many others whose contributions have led to strong Sino-Finnish cooperation across different fields of law’.

‘Assistant Professor Chen Yifeng has also been instrumental in building the strategic relationship in legal research and education between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, and more broadly between legal academia in China and the Nordic countries’, Professor Liukkunen said.

‘It is only fitting that, in honour of its 120th anniversary, the University of Helsinki has awarded a silver medal to Peking University, a special strategic partner of the University of Helsinki’.

Details of the legal education and research relationship between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, which includes a number of Academy of Finland-funded projects, can be found in the Finnish China Law Center: Report on its First Four Years, published in 2017.

 

Nordic China Law Week 2018: Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, hosted the meeting. Pictured with Professor Ditlev Tamm of the University of Copenhagen (middle) and Professor Xavier Groussot, Pro Dean of the Faculty of Law of Lund University (right).

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, chaired the meeting, which provided a forum in which scholars shared their China law-related activities and plans.

Forms and possibilities of inter-institutional collaboration at a general level were explored during the two hour-long gathering.

Professor Dag Michalsen, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Oslo, speaking at the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting in the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki on 20 April 2018.

Scholars also discussed Nordic-wide involvement in events being organized by the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center, including the 9th Bilateral Seminar on Comparative Law with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) (Beijing, September 2018).

As a result of the meeting, discussions are continuing between Nordic institutions about better coordinating the region’s approach to China law research and education and promoting knowledge and awareness of Nordic legal models and systems in China.

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, discussing the Center’s role in promoting legal research and education between China and the Nordic countries.

The meeting was one of many events organized during Nordic China Law Week 2018, with others including:

Tuesday 17 April: Trade Governance of the Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Wednesday 18 April: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law

Wednesday 18 April: How Important is China’s Constitution in the Chinese Legal System?

Thursday 19 April: China Law Research Workshop

Monday 23 April: Information Session on Online Chinese Legal Research

Monday 23 April: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives

Flags of the Nordic countries. Photo credit: Hansjorn CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

NORDIC CHINA LAW WEEK 2018: CHINA LAW RESEARCH WORKSHOP

As part of Nordic China Law Week 2018, the Finnish China Law Center organized a China Law Research Workshop on Thursday 19 April 2018 at the University of Helsinki, one of the Finnish China Law Center’s 10 member institutions.

The Workshop, co-organized with the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki and supported by University of Helsinki Chinese Studies and the Confucius Institute of the University of Helsinki, provided an overview of how to approach Chinese legal research and comparative law research involving China.

Judge and professor Alan Neal hosted the event and gave presentations during the China Law Research Workshop on 19 April 2018 at the University of Helsinki.

Professor and judge Alan C. Neal moderated the event, which was opened by Director of the Finnish China Law Center, Professor Ulla Liukkunen, and the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo.

This was the second time the Finnish China Law Center has held a China Law Research Workshop.

As was the case with the first Workshop, the event was attended by a diverse range of people. The over 80 registered attendees of more than 10 nationalities included university scholars, think tank researchers, diplomats, students, lawyers, those working in business (ranging from large multinational corporations to startups), entrepreneurs and government representatives.

Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, opened the Workshop and also gave a presentation on the topic ‘Taking Account of History When Researching Contemporary Law’.

In what proved to be a full and engaging program, presentations were given by leading scholars based in the Nordic region, including Professor Ditlev Tamm of the University of Copenhagen who spoke on the topic ‘Nordic Reflections on Chinese Culture, the Rule of Law and Judicial Reform with Chinese Characteristics.’

In addition, three professors based in top-tier Chinese law schools traveled to Helsinki to contribute to the Workshop.

Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University) speaking on ‘How to Approach Chinese IP Law and Private Law Theory’ at the China Law Workshop.

Professor Yan Dong (Acting Dean of Beijing Foreign Studies University) gave presentations on the sources of Chinese law and the Chinese legal system in an international context. Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University) spoke on ‘How to Approach Chinese IP Law and Private Law Theory’. Assistant Associate Professor Yan Tian (Peking University) spoke on the topic ‘How to Approach Chinese Labour Law and Industrial Relations’.

Assistant Professor Yan Tian (Peking University) speaking on ‘How to Approach Chinese Labour Law and Industrial Relations’ at the China Law Research Workshop on 19 April 2018.

Professor Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of Confucius Institute at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki, discussed the relationship between culture and research involving contemporary China.

Professor Matti Nojonen (University of Lapland), Deputy Chair of the Finnish China Law Center, drew upon his experience in China and ongoing research when talking about the ‘Intersections of Economics, Business and the Law in China: Implications for Legal Research’.

Professor Matti Nojonen speaking at the China Law Research Workshop at the University of Helsinki on 19 April 2018.

Another well-received presentation at the Workshop was given by Post-doctoral Researcher Dr Yihong Zhang (University of Helsinki), who drew upon her academic background and experience as a corporate lawyer in China when speaking on the China’s Company law regime.

The Workshop also included a panel discussion on the practicalities of China law teaching and research, featuring Professor Jukka Viljanen (University of Tampere), Dr Harriet Lonka (University of Eastern Finland), Dr Wei Lu (Aalto University) and Dr Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaca (University of Helsinki).

The Workshop ended with Rector’s Reception hosted by Dean Letto-Vanamo, which provided an excellent opportunity for speakers and participants to network and have in-depth discussions about the themes covered during the Workshop.

The Workshop was one of many exciting events organized as part of Nordic China Law Week 2018.

Tuesday 17 April: Trade Governance of the Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Wednesday 18 April: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law

Wednesday 18 April: How Important is China’s Constitution in the Chinese Legal System?

Friday 20 April: First Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

Monday 23 April: Information Session on Online Chinese Legal Research

Monday 23 April: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives