NEWDAY – Nansen East-West Dialogue Academy for undergraduate and Masters students: 7 – 17 August 2018, Norway

Between 7 – 17 August 2018, interested students are invited to participate in an inter-disciplinary training summer school training program, NEWDAY–Nansen East-West Dialogue Academy, held at the Nansen Academy in Lillehammer, Norway.

NEWDAY is a training program that addresses current global challenges in a unique social setting. The program emphasizes cultural understanding and cross-cultural communication with classroom teaching, lectures, discussions, socializing, workshops, and excursions, and features lectures by prominent scholars, journalists, and thinkers as well as debates and dialogue between students and teachers on the burning issues of our time.

The main themes of the 2018 include gender and society; media and activism; and climate crisis and environmental degradation.

This year is the second time NEWDAY is being held. In 2017, the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), in collaboration with the Fudan-European Centre for China Studies and Nansen Academy, held the first NEWDAY–Nansen East-West Dialogue Academy.

The organizers welcome applications from students at the BA and MA levels from all disciplines.

The deadline for applications is 22 June 2018.

More information

For more information on this year’s program, how to apply and other practicalities, please visit the official NEWDAY webpage: www.newdaylillehammer.org.

Students are at any time welcome to email contact@newdaylillehammer.org for any questions regarding the summer school.

Photo credit: https://nansenskolen.no/kurs/newday/

Nordic China Law Week 2018: 17 – 23 April

The Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki are proudly co-hosting Nordic China Law Week 2018.

‘Nordic China Law Week 2018 will be held 17 – 23 April and will feature an exciting array speakers and contributors from China and the Nordic region’, says Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Center.

‘This reflects ever-deepening interest in Chinese law in the Nordic academic, and broader public, arena’.

‘In addition, Nordic China Law Week 2018 is being held in response to strong and growing interest in Chinese law and the Chinese legal system from the private and non-profit sectors’, Professor Liukkunen says.

‘In light of corporate demand, including from local SMEs and startups, Nordic China Law Week 2018 will include many events on Chinese business and corporate law, including Chinese intellectual property law’.

Professor Liukkunen says the Center is particularly thankful for the contribution and involvement of scholars from across the Center’s 10 member institutions.

Nordic China Law Week 2018 will include a day-long China Law Workshop, the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting, a half-day seminar on contemporary people management in China (special guest speaker: Peter Vesterbacka of Angry Birds and Slush fame), a short-form seminar on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as well as guest lectures on Chinese constitutional and intellectual property law.

The Week is targeted at lawyers, those in business (including entrepreneurs), people working in governments or international organizations, academics, students, those working in NGOs /civil society and anyone with an interest in learning about Chinese law and legal culture.

All events are free and open to the public, with the exception of the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting (aimed at senior scholars from education and research institutions in the Nordic region, though junior academics, including doctoral candidates, are welcome to join). The host of the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting will be Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki.

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, will host the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting during Nordic China Law Week 2018.

The Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, thank University of Helsinki Chinese Studies and the Confucius Institute at the University of Helsinki for their support for Nordic China Law Week 2018.

Program of events

Further details of each event in Nordic China Law Week 2018, as well as links to register where relevant, can be found in the following event pages on the website of the Finnish China Law Center:

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

Further questions and media inquiries

Please contact Stuart Mooney, Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Finnish China Law Center to hold China Law Research Workshop for Researchers, Practitioners and Students: Thursday 19 April 2018

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

The Workshop will provide an overview of how to approach Chinese legal research and comparative law research involving China.

The event will be of benefit to students, researchers and practitioners who are interested in Chinese law and the Chinese legal system, and provide an excellent opportunity for participants to meet and network with others who are working with, or interested in, Chinese law and legal culture.

This is the second time the Finnish China Law Center has held a China Law Research Workshop, which is being co-organized with the Faculty of Law and Confucius Institute of the University of Helsinki.

Moderator and Speakers

Professor and judge Alan C. Neal will moderate the event, which will be opened by the Director of the Finnish China Law Center, Professor Ulla Liukkunen.

Professor Alan Neal (Photo credit: Leiden University)

Professor Neal will be joined by scholars from the Nordic region and China. Visiting scholars from China include Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University)Professor Yan Dong (Beijing Foreign Studies University) and Associate Professor Yan Tian (Peking University).

Registration

Please register by close of business Monday 16 April through the following electronic registration form:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/87422/lomake.html

Workshop Program 

Venue: Small Hall, Fourth Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33

08:30 – 09:00  Registration and coffee

09:00 – 09:15  Welcome to the workshop

Introduction to the Workshop and Some Thoughts on China Law Research: Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture (University of Helsinki)

09:15 – 10:45  Session 1. Background: China and Chinese Law in Context

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Discovering ‘China’: An Overview: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Sources of Chinese Law: Professor Yan Dong (Beijing Foreign Studies University)

Nordic Reflections on Chinese Culture, the Rule of Law and Judicial Reform with Chinese Characteristics: Professor Ditlev Tamm (University of Copenhagen)

10:45 – 11:00  Morning tea/coffee

11:00 – 12:30  Session 2. Theoretical Perspectives: Historical and Comparative Approaches to Chinese Law and Legal Culture 

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Culture and Contemporary China: Professor Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of Confucius Institute at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki

Intersections of Economics, Business and the Law in China: Implications for Legal Research: Professor Matti Nojonen (University of Lapland)

Taking Account of History When Researching Contemporary Law: Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law (University of Helsinki)

12:30 – 13:45  Lunch

13:45 – 15:15  Session 3. Institutions and Actors: Contextualizing Law in China (parallel session)

Venue: Small Hall, Fourth Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

The Chinese Legal System in an International Context: Professor Yan Dong (Beijing Foreign Studies University)

Gendered Choices in Structures of Law and Gender: Theoretical Considerations When Undertaking Comparative and Chinese Law Research: Minna Canth Academy Professor Johanna Niemi (University of Turku) and Doctoral Researcher Pia Eskelinen (University of Turku)

Legal Institutions: Judicial and Administrative Decision-Making in China: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

13:45 – 15:15  Session 4. Current ‘Hot’ Topics in Chinese Private Law (parallel session)

Venue: Auditorium XII, Third Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 34

Session moderator: Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture (University of Helsinki)

How to Approach Chinese IP Law and Private Law Theory: Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University)

How to Approach Chinese Labour Law and Industrial Relations: Assistant Professor Yan Tian (Peking University)

How to Approach the Chinese Company Law Regime: Dr Yihong Zhang (University of Helsinki)

15:15 – 15:30  Afternoon coffee/tea

15:30 – 16:30  Panel Discussion: Practicalities of China Law Teaching and Research

Venue: Small Hall, Fourth Floor of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33

Session moderator: Professor Alan C. Neal (University of Warwick)

Professor Jukka Viljanen (University of Tampere)
Dr Harriet Lonka (University of Eastern Finland)
Dr Wei Lu (Aalto University)
Dr Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaca (University of Helsinki)

16:30 End of Workshop

18:00 Official Reception hosted by Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Venue: Faculty of Law Teachers’ Lounge, Second Floor of the Porthania Building (Yliopistonkatu 3)

Other Events During Nordic China Law Week 2018 

The Workshop is just one of many exciting events being organized as part of Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April 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: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives

Further Information and Media Inquiries

Questions about the Workshop from interested participants and the media can be directed to the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Logo of the University of Helsinki, the Law Faculty of which co-organized the China Law Research Workshop.
Logo of the Confucius Institute of the University of Helsinki, co-organizer of the China Law Research Workshop.

University of Helsinki to Host First-Ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

On Friday 20 April 2018, the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center will host the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting.

The Meeting is being held as part of Nordic China Law Week 2018.

The purpose of the Meeting, which will be held between 09:00 – 11:00, is to provide a forum in which scholars can share their China law-related activities and plans, and explore forms and possibilities of inter-institutional collaboration at a general level.

There will also be discussion of Nordic-wide involvement in some 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 – exact date to be confirmed).

This round table discussion is open to those affiliated with universities or research institutions in the Nordic region whose research or teaching relates to the law and China (including Chinese law, comparative law involving China, and China’s engagement with international law).

Scholars who would like to pursue legal teaching or research involving China are also invited to attend.

While the meeting is intended for senior scholars, junior academics, including doctoral students, are warmly encouraged to join.

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, will chair the Meeting.

Tea and coffee will be served during the meeting, and a light lunch will follow.

Registering to attend

Those interested in attending the event are kindly asked to register, and indicate any dietary preferences/needs, through this electronic form:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/86596/lomake.html  

The Meeting will be held in the Meeting Room of the Faculty of Law (P545), 5th floor of the Porthania Building (Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki).

Other events in Nordic China Law Week 2018

Those interested in Chinese law and legal culture are encouraged to join other events being held during Nordic China Law Week 2018.

Directly after the Meeting (from 12:15 to 13:45), legal scholar and judge Professor Alan Neal (Warwick University) will give a guest lecture, which participants at the Meeting are encouraged to attend.

Other events during the Week include:

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

Further questions and media inquiries

Questions about the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting, and Nordic China Law Week 2018, can be directed at the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

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

Kone-Fudan Nordic Centre Scholarships

The Kone Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation with a mission to make the world a better place by advancing initiatives in research and the arts, offered two 4 to 6 month-long scholarships to conduct research in China. The cut-off to apply for those scholarship was 28 March 2018.

Office space for scholarship awardees will be provided by the Fudan Nordic Centre in Shanghai, a joint-venture between Fudan University and universities from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The Fudan Nordic Center holds the annual Sino-Finnish Days, which have contributed to the growing number of legal research and education activities between China and the Nordic countries.

The Finnish member universities of the Fudan Nordic Center are the University of Helsinki, the University of Eastern Finland, Hanken School of Economics, the University of Lapland, the University of Tampere and the University of Turku. All of these universities are also member institutions of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law.

The scholarship program is intended to support and expand China-related research conducted in the Finnish universities. The aim is to stimulate researchers to expand their research focus towards research connected with China and to facilitate longer research periods in China. When possible and relevant, doctoral candidates can attend teaching offered by the Fudan Nordic Centre.

Further information and application process

More information about the scholarships, including the full Call for Applications and instructions on how to apply, can be found on Asianet’s website.

 

Logo of the Nordic Center, Fudan University, China

Finnish China Law Center Blog Ranked Number 3 on ‘Top 15 China Law Blogs and Websites To Follow’ Rankings List

The Finnish China Law Center’s blog has been ranked number 3 on the ‘Top 15 China Law Blogs and Websites To Follow’ compiled by online newsreader service Feedspot.com.

According to Feedspot.com, the ranking was based on the following criteria:

  • Google reputation and Google search ranking
  • Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
  • Quality and consistency of posts; and
  • Feedspot.com’s editorial team and expert review.

The ranking was released on 21 February 2018 and the rankings list will be updated weekly.

‘I’m pleased at the attention the Finnish China Law Center’s blog is attracting from the Nordic region, China and around the world’, says Stuart Mooney, who manages the blog and is the Coordinator of the China Law Center.

‘The blog is an important forum through which the Center communicates with its stakeholders about the China law-related education and research activities of the Center and its 10 member institutions.’

‘We also use the blog to highlight the important contribution of our international partners, including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Peking University, in promoting China law-related education and research in the Nordic region, as well as Nordic collaboration with Chinese scholars and institutions in the fields of comparative and international law’, Stuart says.

‘I’d encourage those interested in learning more about the Center to follow our blog closely, and to read the recently-published Report on the Finnish China Law Center’s First Four Years.’ 

The Finnish China Law Center is also active on Facebook and Twitter.

Questions about the Finnish China Law Center and its blog can be directed to Stuart.Mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Certification provided by Feedspot.com, which compiled the ‘Best China Law Blog’ list and ranked the China Law Center’s blog No. 3.

 

European Law Students’ Association Members Visit Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

On 1 February 2018, the Finnish China Law Center, based in the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, welcomed a group of students from the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) who visited the Center to learn about Chinese legal education and research.

ELSA is an international, independent, non-political and non-profit organisation run by and for students and recent graduates interested in achieving academic and personal excellence in addition to their legal or law-related studies at university.

The visit by ELSA was hosted by Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki.

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, speaking during the ELSA visit

Dean Letto-Vanamo is a legal historian and comparative lawyer specialized in European legal history, history of European integration, Nordic legal culture(s) and transnational law, with a strong interest in Chinese law and Chinese legal culture.

During her opening speech at the event, Dean Letto-Vanamo delineated the history of comparative law and Chinese legal education and scholarship in Finland, and underscored the increasing importance of understanding Nordic law not just in its European context, but from the global perspective, including in comparison with Chinese law.

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, also of the University of Helsinki, was another speaker at the event. Professor Liukkunen is Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture and has been recently elected as a Member of the Board of Directors of the European China Law Studies Association (欧洲中国法研究协会).

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, sharing her experiences as a China law researcher with visiting ELSA students

Professor Liukkunen spoke about the Finnish China Law Center’s role in facilitating and promoting China law and comparative law research, and about the increasing Nordic-wide approach to Chinese legal education and research. During her presentation, Professor Liukkunen also drew upon her research in Chinese law and comparative law involving China, and highlighted the importance of taking local conditions and culture into consideration when conducting comparative research with Chinese law.

The main speech during the ELSA visit was given by Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr Yihong Zhang.

Dr Yihong Zhang giving the main presentation during the ELSA student visit 

Dr Zhang, who lectures at the University of Helsinki and is responsible for its popular annual summer school program in Chinese law, drew upon her academic and professional experience in China when discussing the Chinese legal system in a comparative context, including its foundations, sources of law, the way law is applied and enforced, and current legal ‘hot topics’ in China.

A short discussion followed Dr Zhang’s presentation, during which time students asked questions about China’s criminal justice system and the rule of law in China.

The Center strongly encourages students – and anyone else – interested in Chinese law and legal culture to follow its blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Questions about Chinese law can be directed to the Coordinator of the Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (@) helsinki.fi.

Dean Letto-Vanamo’s book on different legal cultures and systems around the world, co-authored with Professor Ditlev Tamm of the University of Copenhagen, is being translated into English. 

Joel Toivola Foundation Grants

The Joel Toivola Foundation is an independent Finnish foundation supporting Finnish academic studies on China.

The Foundation awards grants for talented young scholars in the fields of humanities and social science research on China, as well as for Finnish students’ Chinese linguistic studies in China.

The last deadline for applying for grants, including Research Fellowship and travel funds, closed on 15 February 2018 at 16:00.

Further information on the grants and detailed application instructions can be found on the Foundation’s website.

For further information on the Joel Toivola Foundation, please contact Foundation’s Executive Director, Mr. Mikko Eskola at saatio@helsinkinet.fi.

About Joel Toivola

According to the website of the Joel Toivola Foundation, Ambassador Joel Toivola (1915-1999) worked for the Finnish Foreign Service in several important posts for more than three decades. He is especially remembered as a great friend of China and throughout his career encouraged relations between Finland and the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Toivola served as the Ambassador of Finland to Beijing from 1961 to 1967.

Multiple Visits to China Cap Year of Growing Bilateral Legal Research and Education Collaboration between the University of Helsinki and China

The end of 2017 saw a flurry of visits of scholars and staff to China from the University of Helsinki, one of the 10 member institutions of the Finnish China Law Center.

The visits capped off a year marked by ever-deepening cooperation between the University of Helsinki and Chinese scholars and institutions.

In October 2017, Rector of the University of Helsinki, Jukka Kola, led a large delegation of scholars and staff to China.

The purpose of the Rector’s visit was to underscore the significance the University of Helsinki attaches to its friends and partners in China.

During his visit, Rector Kola further developed the important relationship between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, a key partner institution in China of the Finnish China Law Center.

Rector Kola also spoke at an event organized by the Beijing Alumni Club hosted by Finland’s Ambassador to China, Jarno Syrjälä.

The event organizer and Head of the China Alumni Board – Chen Yifeng, Assistant Professor of Law at Peking University – is also Docent of the University of Helsinki and a legal scholar of international renown who played a central role in establishing, and growing, the Finnish China Law Center.

Rector of the University of Helsinki Jukka Kola speaking with Professor Chen Yifeng of Peking University at the China Alumni Club event held at the residence of the Finnish Ambassador to China on 14 October 2017 (Photo credit: Helsingin yliopiston alumniyhdistys)

More about Professor Chen’s engagement and research in the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center can be found in the recently published Report on the First Four Years of the Center.

Sanna Villikka, acting Head of Administration of the Faculty of Medicine, was also part of the Rector Kola’s delegation.

Ms Villikka visited China in her former capacity as Senior Advisor in Research Funding Services at the University of Helsinki’s City Centre Campus. The purpose of her trip was to develop staff exchange between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, to further enhance the University of Helsinki’s relationship with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and to emphasize the high esteem with which the University of Helsinki views its relationship with the Faculty of Law of Peking University.

Another important visit to China was by then Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Kimmo Nuotio.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio of the University of Helsinki speaking at the CASS Rule of Law Forum, Beijing, November 2017 (Photo credit: Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Professor Nuotio joined the Annual Meeting of the Silk Road Law Schools Alliance hosted by Wuhan University.

The Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki is one of the founding members of the Alliance, which is composed of leading law schools from China and abroad.

The Annual Meeting has become a platform for law schools to meet and discuss academic research, collaboration and legal education.

Doctoral Candidate Kangle Zhang, contact person of the Alliance from the University of Helsinki, also joined the meeting.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio and Doctoral Candidate Zhang Kangle of the University of Helsinki with representatives from other institutions involved in the Silk Road Law Schools Alliance, at the Alliance’s annual meeting in November 2017 (Photo credit: Wuhan University)

Professor Nuotio was invited to give public lectures at universities across the country, including Peking University, the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Wuhan University, Shandong University, and Wuhan University of Technology.

Professor Nuotio also gave a presentation at the Chinese Academy of Social Science’s annual international Rule of Law conference in Beijing.

Held on 17–18 November, the theme of the 2017 conference was ‘Modes of Rule of Law and Modernization of State Governance’.

Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Helsinki, Sakari Melander, was similarly invited to present at the CASS Rule of Law conference, which doctoral candidate Zhang Kangle also attended.

Professor Sakari Melander of the University of Helsinki speaking at the CASS Rule of Law Forum, Beijing, November 2017 (photo credit: Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences).

Professor Jukka Viljanen, of Finnish China Law Center member institution the University of Tampere, was also invited to give a presentation at the conference.

Yet another senior scholar from the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki to visit China in late 2017 was Senior Lecturer and Adjunct Professor Dr Jarna Petman, who lectured on human rights at Peking University in October 2017.

In addition to her many academic and professional responsibilities, including serving as a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, Professor Petman also visits and lectures at the prestigious Peking University Law School on a regular basis.

These visits have been supported by CIMO’s funding for the collaboration between Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights and Peking University’s Institute of International Law.

Senior Lecturer (att. to the duties of Professor) of the University of Helsinki / University of Turku and Sanna Villikka (University of Helsinki) in Beijing, October 2017 (Photo credit: Sanna Villikka)

The CIMO project, the result of an application made by Kangle Zhang, was jointly managed by several staff of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki prior to its conclusion at the end of 2017.

During its two years of operation, the project facilitated a range of successful activities that deepened collaboration between the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki and Peking University Law School.

The end of 2017 also saw a flurry of visits from China to Finland.

These inbound visits included two delegations in November alone.

The first of these, a large delegation of judges from the Chinese province of Yunnan, resulted in a productive seminar on comparative juvenile justice in Finland and China.

The second visit, by the leadership of Beihang University Law School, lead to the signing of a new MOU on legal research and education cooperation.

This new relationship has already borne fruit, with the announcement by Beihang University Law School of the establishment of its Nordic Law Center, the first of its kind in China.

2018 is shaping up to be even busier for the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center.

In addition to guest lectures, visiting speakers and other smaller-scale activities, the Center is hosting or co-organizing a number of international events.

These include a China Law Workshop (Helsinki, April – tbc), the 9th Bilateral Comparative Law Seminar (Beijng, August – tbc) with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the 6th China-Europe Legal Forum with the China Law Society (Helsinki, November – tbc).

Follow the Finnish China Law Center on Twitter (@ChinaLawCenter) and Facebook (@ChinaLawCenter) to keep up-to-date with the latest news, events, publications and other activities of the Center and its member institutions.

China’s New Food Safety Law a ‘Milestone’ in China’s Legislative Reforms: Dr Harriet Lonka, University of Eastern Finland

China’s new Food Safety Law was issued in 2009 and revised in 2015. For Post-Doctoral Researcher Harriet Lonka, the chance to be a visiting scholar at Peking University Law School and research this important legislative reform was an opportunity not to be missed.

Dr Harriet Lonka, from Finnish China Law Center member institution the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), was a visiting Post-Doctoral Researcher at Peking University from 1 October to 17 November 2017.

The highly respected Peking University is a key strategic partner of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture, as detailed in the recently published Report on the First Four Years of the Center.

‘My research in China focused on the new Chinese Food Safety Law. This legislation is an important milestone in China’s legislative reforms and also a key issue concerning trade policy and China’s relations with its international trade partners, especially the WTO’.

During her time in Peking University Law School, Dr Lonka worked closely with Chinese legal scholar Professor Chen Yifeng.

Professor Chen is also a Docent at the University of Helsinki and played a key role in establishing and growing the Finnish China Law Center.

Dr Lonka has a long background in the field of risk management studies, and during her PhD studies she studied the Finnish government’s Security Strategy work and how it effects the shaping of legislation.

‘Chinese Food Safety legislation is comparable in its target and format to the risk regulation tradition in Europe and in Finland’, Dr Lonka says.

‘In my current research, I focus on the aspects of the implementation of the law that have been identified as potential ‘Achilles heels’ of enforcement of the Food Safety Law in China’.

Dr Lonka believes that there are new and interesting challenges in applying measures of risk surveillance, risk management and risk communication at different levels of administration in China.

Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr Harriet Lonka (University of Eastern Finland), during her study visit to Peking University Law School, 2017

Given the angle of her research, she envisages many more opportunities for fruitful research cooperation with Chinese colleagues in the future.

Dr Lonka’s research was also supported by the fact that she had contacts to the local level administration and foodstuff producers in Hunan Province, which enabled useful data collection in the field.

The opportunity to conduct research not only in Beijing, but also in Hunan Province, was beneficial in many respects, Dr Lonka says.

‘My study visit provided me a lot of important background knowledge and new understanding of Chinese legislation, how it is created and implemented. This is of great interest to me as my own research field is legislative studies. Legislative studies concentrate on how laws are drafted and implemented and what defines their effect’.

One area of particular interest to Dr Lonka is the question of ‘decentralized development’ in China.

‘I would wish to better understand the structures and mechanisms for guidance and supervision from the central government level to provinces and further to the local level in China’.

‘The study of Chinese Food Safety Law provides an excellent case study to scrutinize these phenomena. I think this research focus can help us in general better understand the ‘many faces of China’ and how that effects the legislative processes and implementation of the administrative laws in the country’.

Dr Lonka is grateful for financial support from the Finnish China Law Center and the Saastamoinen Foundation, and for the support of her Finnish supervisors: Professor Ulla Liukkunen from the University of Helsinki / Finnish China Law Center, and Professors Anssi Keinänen and Katja Lindroos from UEF.

NEW NORDIC LAW CENTER TO BE ESTABLISHED AT BEIHANG UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW

Beihang University School of Law (China) has announced the establishment of a new Nordic Law Center.

The announcement comes in the wake of the creation of formal relations between the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, a member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, and Beihang University Law School in late November.

A six-person delegation from Beihang University, headed by Professor Long Weiqiu, Dean of the Law School, visited Helsinki last month to sign an MOU with the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and to discuss future collaboration.

(Left to right): Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki; Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center; and Dr Zhang Yihong, Post-doctoral Researcher in the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki during talks with Beihang University Law School.

The move to establish a new Nordic Law Center has been warmly welcomed by outgoing Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Kimmo Nuotio, and incoming Dean, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo.

‘The establishment of a Nordic Law Center in Beihang University Law School is an excellent idea. It provides an opportunity to build on our common interests, and we look forward to a fruitful collaboration’ , Professor Nuotio says.

While in Finland, the delegation also met with the University of Turku, another member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, and Pekka Hallberg, Emeritus President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland and the founder of Rule of Law Finland (ROLFI). Justice Hallberg has been long involved in China and Chinese law, and earlier this year the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki hosted the launch of Justice Hallberg’s book, ‘Rule of Law and Sustainable Development’.