Call for Papers: 17th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association

The 17th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association (ECLS) which will take place during 20- 22 September 2023.

The conference will be hosted and organized by the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki in cooperation with the Finnish China Law Center. The event will take place at the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 34, 00100 Helsinki, Finland.

Since the ECLS’s main objective is to encourage comparative and interdisciplinary research on Chinese law, the conference will be a platform for scholars and professionals to exchange ideas about Chinese law and initiate research collaboration.

The Annual Conference Organizing Committee is now inviting submissions. The Conference will highlight legal issues relating to the topics below. Please note that submissions are not necessarily limited to the listed topics.

  • Legal Issues of EU-China Relations
  • China in the International Legal Order
  • Legal Culture, Legal Traditions and Rule of Law Development
  • Legal Aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative
  • Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure
  • Gender Equality in China
  • International Human Rights Protection and the Chinese Legal System
  • Chinese Law, COVID and the Emergency/Pandemic Preparedness
  • Chinese Policy and Presence in the Arctic
  • Sustainable Development and the Role of Regulation
  • Legal and Economic Issues of International Investment
  • Developments in Corporate and Commercial Law
  • Cyber Security, Data Privacy and Personal Information Protection
  • Artificial Intelligence and Ethics, Big Data and Intellectual Property Law
  • Social Credit and the Law, Judicial Reforms and Smart Courts
  • Labour Law Developments, Decent Work and Fundamental Labour Rights
  • Administrative Law and Administrative Procedure
  • China’s Environment, Climate Change and Air Pollution Laws and Policies

Call for papers:

The ECLS welcomes the submission of paper abstracts and panel proposals. Both abstracts (max. 300 words) and proposals for panel sessions (max. 1000 words) should include the title of the paper or panel; name, institution, and email address of the author(s); and up to five keywords.

Abstracts and proposals from young researchers (PhD candidates, MA students, etc.) are welcomed as well. Young scholars’ sessions will be organized as roundtables to be moderated by senior researchers.

Proposals should be submitted via the online submission form. All proposals will be subject to peer-review. The deadline for submissions of abstracts and panel proposals is 19 March 2023, and the deadline for submission of full papers (max. 8000 words) is 18 June 2023.

Further information regarding the call for papers can be found at https://www.helsinki.fi/en/conferences/17th-annual-conference-european-china-law-studies-association/call-papers.

All questions about submissions can be addressed to Professor Björn Ahl (bjoern.ahl@me.com).

Main Building of the University of Helsinki

Call for Papers: 16th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association

During 21- 23 September 2022, the 16th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association (ECLS) will be hosted and organized by hosted and organized by the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for International Courts (iCourts), Study Hub for International Economic Law and Development (SHIELD) and Centre for Private Governance (CEPRI), Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen.

Since the ECLS’s main objective is to encourage comparative and interdisciplinary research on Chinese law, the conference will be a platform for scholars and professionals to exchange ideas about Chinese law and initiate research collaboration. Although there is no strict specification on the choice of topic, the organizers especially welcome submissions that concern the following themes:

  • Legal Issues of EU-China Relations
  • China in the International Legal Order
  • China’s New Structure of Party and State
  • Extraterritorial Jurisdiction of Chinese Law
  • China’s Legal Culture, Legal Traditions and Comparative Law
  • International Courts and Tribunals and the Rule of Law in
    China
  • China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Global Economic Governance
  • China and the Inbound and Outbound Foreign Investments: Forms of Regulation, Special Economic Zones, Investment Screening
  • Global Circular Supply Chains and Regulations in China
  • Cyber Security, Data Privacy and Personal Information Protection
  • Artificial Intelligence and Ethics, Big Data and Intellectual Property Law
  • China’s Civil Code, Corporate and Securities law
  • China’s Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation Law in Global Context
  • Chinese and Comparative Labor Law
  • New developments in China’s Judicial Reforms and Autonomy of the Legal Profession

Call for papers:

The ECLS welcomes the submission of paper abstracts and panel proposals. Both abstracts (max. 300 words) and proposals for panel sessions (max. 1000 words) should include the title of the paper or panel; name, institution, and email address of the author(s); and up to five keywords.

Abstracts and proposals from young researchers (PhD candidates, MA students, etc.) are welcomed as well. Young scholars’ sessions will be organized as roundtables to be moderated by senior researchers.

Proposals should be submitted online; the submission form can be found here: https://jura.ku.dk/icourts/calendar/2022/european-china-law-studies-association-annual-conference-2022/submission/. All proposals will be subject to peer-review by the organizing committee. The deadline for submissions of abstracts and panel proposals is 10 June 2022, and the deadline for submission of full papers (max. 8000 words) is 8 September 2022.

Further information regarding the call for papers can be found at https://jura.ku.dk/icourts/calendar/2022/european-china-law-studies-association-annual-conference-2022/.

All questions about submissions can be addressed to Dr. Wen Xiang (wen.xiang@jur.ku.dk).

Online Seminar – Standard Essential Patents in China

On 23 March 2022, an online mini seminar on Standard Essential Patents in China will be held by IPR University Center in collaboration with the Finnish China Law Center.

This seminar addresses the challenges that SEP licensing currently faces between EU and China. In the wave of technology developments, Chinese courts have been more proactive in handling SEP-related disputes. The judicial approach in handling SEP litigations by Chinese courts should be closely monitored and multiple legal issues are discussed in rulings from the Chinese courts. Also a debate on whether courts have the authority to decide global rates is attracting attention.

The seminar programme is available at https://ipruc.fi/koulutus-tapahtuma/standard-essential-patents-in-china/.

The seminar is free of charge. Registration is open till 21 March 2022 at

https://link.webropolsurveys.com/Participation/Public/c86860d7-db36-415e-8d0d-0ff9fb861d73?displayId=Fin2457991

Online seminar: Chinese Perspectives on Public International Law

On 15 March 2022, the Finnish China Law Center will organize an online mini seminar titled ‘Chinese Perspectives on Public International Law’. The event is part of the Center’s mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law.

Event speakers include Yifeng Chen, Associate Professor at Peking University Law School and Björn Ahl, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne.

Time: 15 March, 10:15 – 11:45 Finnish time

Venue: Zoom

The event is open to the public.

More information about the seminar programme and registration is available at https://blogs.helsinki.fi/chinalawcenter/online-seminar-chinese-perspectives-on-public-international-law/

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels

ChinaTalks Lecture: New Danish Foreign Investment Screening Regime

On 9 March 2022, Study Hub for International Economic Law and Development (SHIELD) at the Faculty of Law University of Copenhagen and Magnusson Denmark will hold a lecture about the new Danish Foreign Investment Screening Regime.

Date & Time: 9 March, 16:00-17:30 Danish time

Location: University of Copenhagen, South Campus, Faculty of Law, Room 4A.0.56

In 2021, Denmark introduced one of the most vigorous foreign investment screening laws yet implemented across Europe. This lecture will cover what kind of transactions that are now restricted, who will be considered foreigners under the Danish legislation, what is now deemed “critical” and also the process for assessing whether the FDI (foreign direct investment) rules apply as well as the filing and approval procedure.

The lecture will also look at how the new legislation will affect Chinese FDI to Denmark at a time where European scrutiny of Chinese investment into critical sectors and infrastructure is on the rise.

The lecture is open for all, but registration is required. Sign up at

https://www.thinkchina.ku.dk/events/chinatalks-the-new-danish-foreign-investment-screening-regime/registration/ 

Online Conference: EU and Asia in the Digitalized World

On 11-12 November 2021, the Study Hub for International Economic Law and Development (SHIELD) at the University of Copenhagen will hold the conference “EU and Asia in the Digitalized World”.

The conference will focus on opportunities and challenges created by digitalization process, including those relating to the high activities of Chinese tech giants and digitalization-related policies on trade and investment of China, particularly in the context of the  EU-Asia investment relations.

Participants can join the conference on both days via 
https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/65449184706

Online Seminar: Recent Developments in Chinese Labour Law

On 22 November 2021, the Finnish China Law Center will organize an online mini seminar titled ‘Recent Developments in Chinese Labour Law’.

Event speakers include Ronald Brown, Law Professor at the University of Hawai’i Law School, Wang Tianyu, Professor at Department of Social Law, Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Science, Yan Tian, Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean at Peking University Law School, and Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at Faculty of Law University of Helsinki and Director of the Finnish China Law Center.

Further information about the seminar programme and registration is published on the Center’s website at https://blogs.helsinki.fi/chinalawcenter/online-seminar-recent-developments-in-chinese-labour-law/

Image by Marko Lovric

Online Seminar: Smart Courts and the Informatization of China’s Judicial System

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

The event is free and open to all audiences including lawyers, the business sector, students, scholars, legislature and policymakers interested in topic. However, registration is required to receive the Zoom meeting information.

More information about the programme and registration can be found at https://blogs.helsinki.fi/chinalawcenter/online-seminar-smart-courts-and-the-informatization-of-chinas-judicial-system/ 

Image by herbinisaac

Introducing the Nordic China Law Network

The Nordic China Law Network (NCLN) is the initiative of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture and the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki. The initiative has been discussed and developed further over the course of three separate Nordic China Law Scholars Meetings held in 2018, 2019 and 2021 hosted by the Center and the Faculty.

The meetings have provided a forum in which scholars from Nordic Law Faculties have exchanged information on Chinese law-related activities and possibilities of collaboration as well as challenges concerning academic China law research.  During the course of these meetings, it was observed that there has been a growing demand from academics in the Nordic states for greater Nordic-wide alignment of China law-related academic activities. Therefore, the idea to create a new pan-Nordic platform to share information and build relationships between scholars and networks across the Nordic was developed. On 17 May 2021, it was decided in the 2021 Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting that a Nordic China Law Network would be established in the form of a loose network without formal structures. This website serves as platform of the Network.

The NCLN and its platform are managed and maintained by the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki.

The NCLN seeks to first and foremost enable mutual information sharing of China law-related academic events, research and publications at the Nordic level. It provides a channel for communication and information sharing on these issues among scholars carrying out Chinese law and legal culture related research in the Nordic region. By bringing together scholars with the same interest, the NCLN aims to promote Chinese law-related education and research as well as foster long-lasting relationships between scholars across the Nordic.

Based on suggestions from the members, the NCLN will also offer a platform for planning and organizing academic conferences, seminars, workshops, and lectures in the field of Chinese law and legal culture to facilitate academic discussions and dialogues among its members.