Prof. Kimmo Nuotio giving guest lecture on ‘Agitation to Hatred as an Offense: Finnish, Nordic and European Perspectives’ at PKU Law School

On 17 October 2023, Professor Kimmo NuotioBoard Member of the Finnish China Law Center held a guest lecture on ‘Agitation to Hatred as an Offense Finnish, Nordic and European Perspectives’  as part of the PKU Law School Distinguished Global Faculty Lecture series.

Professor Nuotio’s lecture discusses the issues of agitation against population groups in Europe.  He mentions that in the Finnish Penal Code, a provision on the topic was first adopted in 1970 as required by the UN Convention on Racial Discrimination. The provision gained prominence following the 2015 immigration crisis in Europe, and the rise of far-right and nationalist movements such as the Nordic Resistance Front. He discusses the question of balancing freedom of speech and restricting illiberal and racist utterances, citing the prohibition of the Nordic Resistance Front in Finland case as an example.

Professor Nuotio further addresses specific issues such as the use of Nazi symbols, Holocaust denial as an offense, and the need for legal provisions against it in Finland and other EU member states. He talked about the relationship between religion and hate speech, mentioning that Finland still has a penal provision for breach of religious peace whereas the other Nordic states already have abolished them. The lecture also highlights the ongoing debate on how to protect freedom of speech while safeguarding minority populations.

Third Chinese Finnish Colloquium on Criminal Law

The Third Chinese Finnish Colloquium on Criminal Law will be held online tomorrow 25 November at 8: 40 am (Helsinki Time).

The event is jointly organized by University of Helsinki Faculty of Law and Peking University Law School.

Please see the programme here.

The Zoom link is below.

Meeting ID: 609 313 8826

Pincode: 100402

All are welcome to attend. No registration required.

Speakers at the First Finnish-Chinese Colloquium on Criminal Law in August 2016.

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio giving guest lecture on Methodology of Criminal Law Theory: Art, Politics or Science? at PKU Law School

On 29 October 2022, Professor Kimmo NuotioBoard Member of the Finnish China Law Center held a guest lecture on Methodology of Criminal Law Theory: Art, Politics or Science? as part of the PKU Law School Distinguished Global Faculty Lecture series. The lecture discussed the role of the general doctrines of penal liability in the criminal law theorising.

In 2021, Professor Nuotio published the edited volume “Methodology of Criminal Law Theory: Art, Politics or Science?”  together with Professor Shin Matsuzawa. In his presentation, Professor Nuotio told the story behind this book and introduced some ideas that had come up in the different chapters. One debate concerns the issues was whether we should abandon a normativist approach and move towards a more realist and even causalist understanding of law as the Scandinavian Realists suggested a few decades ago.

He especially discussed the different paths of development as regards the conceptual understanding of the crime, which is a summary of the understanding of the comprehensive system of the different prerequisites of penal liability. He also made some remarks on this search for a concept of crime in a comparative setting.

The German doctrine stands for many as the most progressive and as the ideal model which has been discussed or even copied in many countries. But can it be copied? Professor Nuotio commented on the discussion from a Finnish point of view. The Finnish story tells that a long-term German influence was interrupted after the World War II, and when the connections were built again in the 1980’s, this did not lead to a transfer and direct adoption of German ideas, but rather to a birth of a genuine Finnish doctrine which is related to the German one but which is more pragmatic.  In the Finnish case the development of the national doctrines was linked to the need to modernise the outdated text-books as well as the need to be able to serve the legislature which was about to reform the so-called general part of the Penal Code. German criminal law theory was not he only source of inspiration, since also Swedish and other Nordic law was relevant and served as a point of reference. Also the case law of the Supreme Court of Finland played a role since the doctrine had to be compatible with it as well.

In Finland a legal reform of the general part of the Penal Code was completed in 2004. The provisions on penal liability are more detailed and comprehensive than the original ones included in the general part of the Penal Code of 1889, thus serving the interests of legal certainty as suggested by the criminal law principle of legality. The criminal law principle of legality itself had become listed as one of the fundamental rights of the individual in the Finnish constitution.

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.

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

 

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio giving guest lecture on Criminal Law as Transnational Law at PKU Law School

On 17 November 2020, Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Board Member of the China Law Center joined the 2020 Fall Semester Online PKU Law School Distinguished Global Faculty lecture series. The lecture series aims to further the internationalization of PKU Law School and foster global awareness among law students beyond the confinement of national boundaries.

Professor Nuotio contributed to the series with a presentation on “Criminal Law as Transnational Law”.

If international criminal law is a concept already relatively well-known, the concept of transnational criminal law is still a relatively new one. Neil Boister has proposed an understanding that whereas international criminal law proper is based on values and principles, the transnational criminal law only is about state’s collaborating in addressing issues of cross-border criminality. Accordingly, transnational criminal law deals with international illegal market, where criminal activities often are organised and run for profit. Transnational criminal law deals with a rather scattered set of topics, and the aim is to strengthen the enforcement of the agreed norms by means of international treaties. In his talk, Professor Nuotio presented this scene and discussed the problems in the creation of transnational criminal law, as the most powerful states have had a biggest say in the drafting of such treaties. As a result, transnational criminal law of today has some problematic features, which should be addressed: it should be enlightened. He also talked about how we could relate an enlightened version of transnational criminal law with law and development studies. Finally, he examined if and how transnational criminal law could be transformed and become a genuine global criminal law.

Professor Genlin Liang and Professor Su Jiang from PKU Law School acted as commenters for Professor Nuotio’s lecture. The lecture received positive feedback from PKU Law students who found his topic very interesting, especially regarding transnational criminal law.

CHINA LAW WEEK 2020 SESSION 1: CHINESE LAW AND LEGAL CULTURE – A DIVERSITY OF APPROACHES

The China Law Week 2020 kicked off with the first session entitled “Chinese Law and Legal Culture – a Diversity of Approaches”. The session was chaired by Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki.

Chair of the session, Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo  speaking on “Taking Account of History When Researching Contemporary Law”, 20 October 2020

The session began with a presentation titled “Taking account of History When Researching Contemporary Law” by Professor Letto-Vanamo. She emphasized the importance of history when researching comparative differences. In Professor Letto-Vanamo´s opinion, knowledge of contemporary politics alone is not sufficient to understand the reasons for comparative differences. She found that the only way to understand Chinese Law is to understand its history, not just legal history but for instance philosophical history and general Chinese mentality as well.

Professor Björn Ahl speaking on “Different Approaches to Chinese Legal Culture”, 20 October 2020

In the second presentation of the session, Professor Björn Ahl from the University of Cologne discussed the different approaches to Chinese legal culture. He first explained the Chinese legal culture, observing that Chinese legal culture as a residual concept lacks explanatory value, invites essentialized approaches to Chinese culture, and more prone to legal orientalism. Professor Ahl then introduced the Chinese legal culture in law-related Chinese studies at the University of Cologne, pointing out that learning Chinese law needs to start from an external and comparative perspective.

Associate Professor Joanna Grzybek speaking on “Dispute Resolution in China: A Language Perspective “, 20 October 2020

The third presentation on “Dispute Resolution in China: A Language Perspective” was given by Associate Professor Joanna Grzybek from Jagiellonian University in Kraków, who is also Deputy Head of the Polish Centre for Law and Economy of China. Professor Grzybek started by giving the overall legal status regarding dispute resolution in China. She stated that due consideration should be given to how language affects international communication and our frames of mind. She stressed that not only legal, but also historical and sociological angles are needed in legal linguistics research.

Professor Johanna Niemi speaking on “Law and Gender: Finnish and Chinese Perspectives”, 20 October 2020

Professor Johanna Niemi from the University of Turku gave the next presentation on “Law and Gender: Finnish and Chinese Perspectives”. She focused on the positioning of the researcher while doing research in another culture and especially when working with the experts from a society different from the one the researcher is custom to. She highlighted the importance of remembering that post-colonial is not just history in many countries but something that still has an impact on the work culture and relationships to other countries even today.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio speaking on “Criminal Law in the Context of Rule of Law: Finnish and Chinese Perspectives”, 20 October 2020

The session closed with the last presentation about “Criminal Law in the Context of Rule of Law: Finnish and Chinese Perspectives” by Professor Kimmo Nuotio from the University of Helsinki. Professor Nuotio talked about how differently Finland and China approach criminal law and the concept of rule of law. In Finland, criminal law has to be compliant with the constitution, meaning that the state must ensure the protection of every individuals’ rights as well as the division of powers and an independent judiciary. In China, however, criminal law has a long tradition of enforcing justice with harsh methods and not guaranteeing fundamental rights or independence of the judiciary.

The Center would like to thank our interns, Elias Jakala, Li Yuan, Anwar Al-Hamidi, Sukhman Gill and Johanna Fähnrich for contributing text for this article.

An interview with Prof. Kimmo Nuotio (Part II): Experience with Belt-and-Road and Chinese collaborations

Introduction to this blogpost

This is Part II of the two-part blog post on the interview with Prof. Kimmo Nuotio on his thoughts and recollection of the China Law Center, as well as other aspects of Chinese collaboration, including the Belt-and-Road Initiative. The interview has been done by our research assistant, Ngor Sin. Part I can be found here.

In Part II, we cover Prof. Kimmo Nuotio’s participation in Belt and Road Initiative-related projects, and his general experience of collaboration with Chinese scholars and education institutions. He also gave very insightful comments on his personal approach of how to collaborate with Chinese colleagues.

New Silk Road Law Schools Alliance and the related publication

One of the biggest efforts in BRI regarding legal science collaboration is the New Silk Road Alliance of Law Schools, which Prof. Nuotio has knowledge since the Alliance’s infancy. He recalled that during his visit to Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2014 to give the opening lecture of a Silk Road-related seminar, there was a discussion between him and the then-Dean of Faculty of Law of Xi’an Jiaotong University Wenhua Shan. During the talk for furthering cooperation between Chinese and foreign law schools, the idea of some new arrangement was developed. After some further exchanges and preparation especially on the Chinese side, the alliance was launched in 2015. From the start, the alliance aimed at bringing together high-quality Chinese and foreign law schools and having a regular platform for exchange of ideas and possible collaborations. Each year, the Alliance would hold Dean Meetings (such as the ones in 2016) as well as other academic conferences to discuss BRI-related topics.

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio signing the documents, bringing the University of Helsinki Faculty of Law in to the New Silk Road Law School Alliance in 2015.

The publication “Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative” is the direct result of the conferences. This book is an early reflection of the legal aspects in BRI. In Prof. Nuotio’s opinion, BRI is mainly a foreign policy concept, but it is interesting to conduct research on this policy, as the legal aspect of BRI comprises of not only Chinese law, but also international law, especially rules regarding how China deals with its neighbours, how the BRI investments are made and are protected by legal regimes. He also mentioned the reason for this publication is to make the best use of materials published in the conferences, as he believe that all collaborations should be serious and should result in some sort of published works, so that the world at large also can read about the results of the academic collaborations.

“Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative” offers normative readings on China’s master plan on foreign affairs, in the context of China as the rising power Covers fields including legal philosophy, Chinese philosophy, labor protection, financial mechanism, environmental protection and other non-trade aspects of the BRI Written for researchers and governmental actors.

General Experience of collaboration with Chinese scholars and institutions

Talking about his experience in China, Prof. Nuotio is very positive about his collaboration as well as visits in general. His recent seminar in Peking University on sexual offences was a success. The proceedings of the seminar, including Prof. Nuotio’s presentation and responses from the audience was recently published online (in Chinese), which Prof. Nuotio is very pleased to hear about. For him, although scholars are often responsible for high-level abstract knowledge production, there must be some groundwork done in order for the legal systems to develop. He also noticed that despite the geographical differences, discussions about problems arising from the legal systems of different countries, such as China and Finland, are almost always the same, thus comparative studies would play a vital role in assisting the development of legal systems.

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio sharing the Finnish experience in development of criminal law concerning sexual offences in Peking University in 2019.

From there, Prof. Nuotio also spoke about his general perception about collaboration with Chinese scholars and institutions in general. He regarded Chinese scholars highly for their openness and frankness. As a criminal law professor, he reckoned that sometimes society has wicked problems that must be confronted and solved, and scholars must be able to openly and freely discuss these problems. He noted the importance of scholars to be able to speak and exchange ideas freely, as only honest and frank exchanges among scholars are meaningful and productive.  He also noted the huge differences in social and political systems between Finland and China, and thought that it is the scholars of that legal system to solve their respective problems with their own ways. The academic exchanges were, in his opinion, rather to tell about experiences on how the respective sides have dealt with the problems commonly faced, and what are the reflections of developments or policies concerned.

Background of Prof. Kimmo Nuotio

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio is a renowned legal scholar with Chinese collaboration experience. He is currently the professor of criminal law at University of Helsinki and is chairing the Strategic Research Council. Previously, he was the Dean of the Law Faculty at University of Helsinki between 2010–2017, and was also the chair of the board of China Law Center between 2013–2019. He also has experience in collaboration with Chinese scholars and working with Chinese materials, including several seminars given at Chinese universities and academic institutions, as well as a journal article on comparative perspectives between Finnish and Chinese law — “the transformation of criminal law and criminal law theory in Finland and China”. He also recently edited a book concerning the Belt and Road Initiative — “Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative”. He was also appointed as a member of Peking University Law School’s new Global Faculty in 2018.

An interview with Prof. Kimmo Nuotio (Part I): The development of the China Law Center from its infancy

 

Introduction to this blog post

In this two-part blog post, we would be reporting on the interview of Prof. Kimmo Nuotio, done by our research assistant, Ngor Sin. In the interview, Prof. Nuotio talked about how the China Law Center was first conceived and subsequently established, followed by his participation in the scholarly efforts on the Belt and Road Initiative and New Silk Road Law Schools alliance. Lastly, Prof. Nuotio recalled his personal experience and views on collaboration with Chinese scholars. Part II can be found here.

The first part of this interview blog post would cover Prof. Nuotio’s experience with the China Law Center, as well as his personal opinion on the impact and development of the work done by the  Center. In the second part, we would cover Prof. Nuotio’s participation in collaboration with Chinese scholars in general, as well as his recent involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative scholarly efforts and the New Silk Road Alliance of Law Schools.

The birth of China Law Center

Prof. Nuotio first recalled how the idea of establishing the China Law Center came about. In 2009, the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS Law) and the Academy of Finland agreed to collaborate in the field of comparative law, related to rule of law topics. Such collaboration resulted in several comparative law conferences held among Finnish and Chinese legal scholars, which has become a tradition since. Details of the conferences are reported on our blog: 2019, 2018, 2017).

According to Prof. Nuotio, the actual plan of building a China Law Center has been materialised in 2012-2013. Given the increase in collaboration, it has been noted that a coordinating unit between Finnish institutions and Chinese institutions is needed. Therefore, around 2012, discussions regarding the establishment of such unit initiated among the Finnish institutions, and the Center was formally launched in 2013. While the Center is based at the University of Helsinki, the whole Sino-Finnish collaboration, including the establishment of the Center, is a joint effort among all the Finnish institutions, which eventually become members of the Center.

Representatives of the Center, the Academy of Finland and the Faculty of Law of University of Helsinki visited Peking University Law School in 2013

Impact and other Thoughts about the China Law Center

On the questions regarding the impact of the China Law Center on Sino-Finnish collaboration, Prof. Nuotio is very positive about the Center’s work. He referred the Center as a national center for coordination of Sino-Finnish research efforts in legal sciences. Another notable achievement that the Center has obtained would be the China Law Center collection, which has been built with the assistance of the Center’s Chinese partners, notably Faculty of Law of Peking University, and is currently hosted by the University of Helsinki Library.

On the impacts that the China Law Center might have been exerting on the scholarly scene, Prof. Nuotio noted that research efforts are usually not easily quantifiable. Instead, it is the existence of the China Law Center that leads to many other possible Sino-Finnish collaboration. In his opinion, the China Law Center presents an alternative to the Chinese scholars on possible collaboration partners and opportunities. Through the Center, Chinese scholars have started to explore European and particularly Nordic legal tradition. Although the Center is not the only European institution engaging the same kind of work, it is the first one in the Nordic countries.

CASS President and delegation visiting the China Law Center in 2017

Prof. Nuotio remarked that the China Law Center is like a baby that he has built from scratch, since he has been involved in the establishment of the Center, and later was also heavily involved in the strategic development of the China Law Center. He is now very happy to see the Center’s current development and that it is very active in Sino-Finnish collaboration. He is also please to notice that every member institution of the Center is making the best use of the Center, and hope that this will continue under the new leadership of the Center’s Board.

In the next part, we will talk about Prof. Nuotio’s personal experience in Chinese collaborations and his recent involvement the Belt and Road Initiative-related projects.

Background of Prof. Kimmo Nuotio

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio is a renowned legal scholar with Chinese collaboration experience. He is currently the professor of criminal law at University of Helsinki and is chairing the Strategic Research Council. Previously, he was the Dean of the Law Faculty at University of Helsinki between 2010–2017, and was also the chair of the board of China Law Center between 2013–2019. He also has experience in collaboration with Chinese scholars and working with Chinese materials, including several seminars given at Chinese universities and academic institutions, as well as a journal article on comparative perspectives between Finnish and Chinese law — “the transformation of criminal law and criminal law theory in Finland and China”. He also recently edited a book concerning the Belt and Road Initiative — “Normative Readings of the Belt and Road Initiative”. He was also appointed as a member of Peking University Law School’s new Global Faculty in 2018.

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

 

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.