1.Chinese Constitutional Law and Administrative Law
Constitution is not hollow words, and democracy is not just affairs of state. Both of them occur around us every day. The Knowledge of constitution and democracy is indispensable not only for the healthy personality, but for the healthy character of state. The Constitution part of this course focuses on basic rights, state institution, democratic theory, electoral system, etc. A plenty of leading cases and event will be applied and discussed in classroom. The Basic system and content of Chinese administrative law, includes: 1. Overview of Chinese administrative law: the basic system, the constitutional framework and the development context of Chinese administrative law; 2. Administrative organs: Chinese government organization system, administrative authorizing and administrative entrusting, the legal system of Chinese civil servants; 3. Administrative action: administrative action and its classification, administrative legislation action, administrative normalization documents, administrative penalty, administrative license, administrative enforcement, administrative levy, other specific administration actions, administrative factual action; 4. Administrative procedure: freedom of administrative information, administrative hearing, administrative investigation, administrative reasoning, other administrative procedures, striving for codifying the administrative procedure ; 5. Administrative compensation and recompense; 6. Administrative review: scope of accepting cases, rules of jurisdiction, the procedure of administrative review, the adjudication of administrative review; 7. Administrative judicial review: scope of accepting cases, rules of jurisdiction, participants in proceedings, the procedure of first instance, the procedure of second instance, facts review, legal review, administrative judgment.
2.Chinese Foreign Investment Law
This course provides an overview of law and policy in China on foreign investment. The course also provides an opportunity for research, analysis, and writing on legal and policy issues of China’s foreign investment. The course will examine the efforts of China in promoting foreign investments, the contextual framework, the bilateral investment treaty practice of China, investment incentives and other legislation defining parameters of Chinese government as the host government and home government respectively, as well as dispute resolution in foreign investment. Furthermore, we will conduct certain case studies and cover some cutting-edge issues, such as private equity, capital markets and project finance in China. The classes will be conducted in English.
3.The Economic Reform and Legal Development in China
Over the past three decades, China has emerged as one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies. During the same period, its law and legal institutions have also evolved and in the process have increasingly engaged international norms. This course is designed to provide an overview of the role of law in the reform of China’s economic system. The course also uses the Chinese experience to examine more generally the relationship between legal and economic development.
The course will begin with introductions to the economic and legal institutions in place in China prior to the beginning of China’s economic reforms in the late 1970s following the Cultural Revolution. The early part of the course also reviews important areas of the theoretical literature regarding the interaction of law and economic development. Thereafter, the course examines prominent areas in which law and economic development intersect, including property, contracts, corporate governance, foreign direct investment, WTO accession and integration, intellectual property and environmental protection. Attention will be paid not only to changing legal doctrine, but also to transitions underway in institutions such as state-owned enterprises, the court system, and the government agencies concerned with implementing and enforcing new laws. The course concludes with a consideration of the lessons that can be drawn from China’s experience both from the perspective of Over the past three decades, China has emerged as one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies. During the same period, its law and legal institutions have also evolved and in the process have increasingly engaged international norms. This course is designed to provide an overview of the role of law in the reform of China’s economic system. The course also uses the Chinese experience to examine more generally the relationship between legal and economic development.
The course will begin with introductions to the economic and legal institutions in place in China prior to the beginning of China’s economic reforms in the late 1970s following the Cultural Revolution. The early part of the course also reviews important areas of the theoretical literature regarding the interaction of law and economic development. Thereafter, the course examines prominent areas in which law and economic development intersect, including property, contracts, corporate governance, foreign direct investment, WTO accession and integration, intellectual property and environmental protection. Attention will be paid not only to changing legal doctrine, but also to transitions underway in institutions such as state-owned enterprises, the court system, and the government agencies concerned with implementing and enforcing new laws. The course concludes with a consideration of the lessons that can be drawn from China’s experience both from the perspective of challenges facing China and the applicability of major theories of law and development.
4.Chinese Civil Law
This course gives you a glimpse of China’s legal concepts and legal evolution. China is a vast country with a long history. China today is still deeply influenced by its traditions, culture, and customs. In this course I will introduce some very important scholars, and then sweep through 2000 years of Chinese history to modern times.
During the late Qing dynasty, China started to interact with Western countries more frequently. Those periods are a crucial point in the development of China. There were many tremendous historic events that happened in China. We will study these. And we will learn to sense the Chinese rules of law by exploring many interesting historic events.
The Chinese started to reform many legal codes in the late Qing dynasty, and they did enact some very high standards in the 1930s. Those codes are still working in Taiwan. When the communists and communism took over China in 1949, they dramatically changed the people’s life’s style. The Chinese people soon also changed their way of thinking after a few decades.
It wasn’t until the 1980s, that Mainland China began to resume its process of legal modernization. Nevertheless, various political orders and directives, rather than the rule of law, have dominated different levels of Chinese government, entities, and private parties in the past years. In the meantime, despite an increasing emphasis on market economy, socialist ideologies remain prominent.
This political context and other traditional concepts, have posed more challenges than ever to China’s ongoing efforts toward legal modernization.
Through studying the history and development of China and its legal system, you will learn to understand your own country, Western culture, and Western values.
5.Chinese Company Law
The course module of Chinese Company Law is one of the compulsory courses offered by the LL.M. Program in Chinese Law. It provides foreign students with knowledge and appreciation of key topics in Chinese company law, including but not limited to the company’s legal personality and lifting the veil of incorporation; registration, formation and promotion of companies; company litigations; allotment and maintenance of share capital and its transfer and transmission; limited liability companies and companies limited by shares; corporate governance (e.g., the duties of directors, shareholders’ remedies, executive remuneration governance, and risk governance); takeovers and mergers; and insolvency, dissolution and liquidation. The aims of this course module are to develop foreign students’ skills in legal reasoning and analysis through studying Chinese company law and related key cases; to facilitate students with an in-depth appreciation of the core topics in company law; and to encourage students to have an awareness of the recent developments in company law. At the end of the course, students should have an improvement in knowledge, intellectual skills, practical skills and transferable skills relating to Chinese company law.
6. Chinese Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure
This course is a compulsory course for international law students at Guanghua Law School. It focuses on the ideas, institutions and practice of China’s criminal law, including a substantive component, or the Criminal Code, and a procedural component, or the Criminal Procedure Law.
The Criminal Code part discuss the theories of crime and penalty, as well as some major patterns of crimes, including endangering state security， endangering public security, disturbing the order of socialist market economy, obstructing the administration of public order, and corruption and bribery.
The Criminal Procedure part discuss the history, objectives, structure and principles of Chinese criminal procedure, as well as major rules of investigation, prosecution, trial, execution of court verdicts, and evidence.
7.Chinese political system of justice
This course is taught in a systematic training of the judicial system of China's political class discussion, lectures will be hot social issues as a starting point, specifically teaches political justice system, including Chinese ancient and contemporary Chinese political status of the judicial system as well as anticipation of China's political justice system development direction, so that students understand all aspects of China's political justice system, the judicial system in China today the presence of certain deficiencies will also be objective and neutral perspective to judge, analyze the reasons put forward countermeasures. In the course of lectures on certain issues will be discussed in the appropriate classes to students on the home country's judicial system based on cognitive, combining classroom teaching by students and between students, between teachers and students to improve the exchange of ideas students the awareness level of the course, to learn from other Chinese laws lay a certain ideological foundation.
8. China and International Law
The aim of the course is to improve student’s knowledge of international law, especially from the Chinese perspective. It will cover a wide range of international law issues, including the history and development of international law, sources and codification of international law, principles of modern international law, law of nationality, state and its responsibility, state recognition and succession, jurisdiction and state immunity, law of treaties, law of the sea, international economic law, international human rights law, law of international organisations, international dispute resolution, and so on. In addition to these selected issues of traditional international law, the course will in particular explore China's engagement with contemporary international law and focus on China's position, participation and practice of modern international law. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand how international law works in China and the international community.
9. Resolving Civil and Commercial Disputes in China
This postgraduate optional course is provided as part of the Chinese Law LLM program run by the Guanghua Law School of Zhejiang University. It contains two interacting components concerning the subject of civil and commercial dispute resolution in contemporary China. First, there is a general discourse about the Chinese legislation and procedural requirements for the resolution of civil and commercial disputes, including those arising between indigenous and foreign natural or legal persons. Second, this teaching unit is also particular for its involvement of detailed discussions about how ordinary citizens and enterprises are using the legal system to safeguard their civil and business rights from the bottom up. In exploring the actual dispute resolution process, a wide range of domestic and foreign-related cases are sorted out and their adjudication proceedings become a highlight to attract the students to be more closely approaching the core of legal controversies. Given the high-profile intellectual property and trade issues in modern China, relevant jurisprudence are also selected from its dispute experiences with the WTO and various IP conventions. In sum, the aim of the course is to encourage the students to truly understand the emerging conception of civil justice in contemporary China, which balances the Chinese tradition and socialist legacies with the drive from market, certainly including the global market. Their appreciation and contribution to the social change and legal reform in China are also to be welcomed.
10.Chinese Economic Law
The course module of Chinese Economic Law is one of the optional courses offered by the LL.M. Program in Chinese Law. It provides foreign students with knowledge and appreciation of key topics in Chinese economic law, including but not limited to the legal system of market access, unfair competition law, antitrust law, consumer protection law, banking law, securities law, insurance law, and labour law. The aims of this course module are to develop foreign students’ skills in legal reasoning and analysis through studying Chinese economic law and related key cases; to facilitate students with an in-depth appreciation of the core topics in economic law; and to encourage students to have an awareness of the recent developments in economic law. At the end of the course, students should have an improvement in knowledge, intellectual skills, practical skills and transferable skills relating to Chinese economic law.
11. Chinese Environmental Resources Law
The course module of Chinese Environmental Law is one of the compulsory courses offered by the LL.M. Program in Chinese Law. It provides foreign students with knowledge and appreciation of key topics in Chinese Environmental Law and its related basic system, including but not limited to Chinese Environmental Law’s development process of, legal source and introduction of the system, the subject of legal relationship and management system, legal principles and basic system, the representative legislation and the characteristic system of prevention and control law, the representative legislation and the characteristic system of natural recourses law, responsibility in Chinese Environmental Law, environmental litigation and dispute resolution. At the same time, leading discussion on the major issues (e.g., "the relationship between economic development and Environmental Law", "the defects and merits of Chinese Environmental Law and its related system", "the legal property of national ownership of natural resources ", " right for animal and its legal status", "compensation for ecological damage and environmental public interest litigation", so as to develop foreign students’ skills in analysis and strengthen the study and understanding of the relevant knowledge.
12. Chinese Philosophy of Law
This is an advanced-level seminar on Chinese Philosophy of Law, focused especially on the great Confucian thinkers in classical times. We will investigate both positive theory and normative theory of law by reading and reinterpreting the crucial texts of ancient Chinese thinkers. We shall treat these ancient thinkers as our contemporaries who make fundamental claims about the most crucial questions in moral, political and legal philosophy at our time and reinterpret them in a sympathetic as well as critical way. To accomplish this goal, we will inevitably compare their claims and arguments with those of contemporary Western philosophers (in Anglo-American tradition generally). The style of the course will be analytical as well as comparative.
13.Governmental Regulation and Administrative Rule of Law
The status of administration determines the development of administrative law. Comparing with the tradition administrative mode which emphasizes command obedience, the goal of constructing service-oriented government made administration open and cooperative. As a result of that, the former administrative law system which focuses on administrative actions and stresses the legal reservation principle and administrative power control by legislation, administrative procedure and judicature has to be reflected and revised.
The course aims to help student change their perspective to put different administrative action into a complete administrative process. Students would try to make clear the legal status of administrative organs, the other agency with administrative tasks and citizens in the complex and interactive administrative process. The expected goal of this course is to raise some advises and interpretation to current administrative law system by analyzing the intricate administrative legal relationship.
14.Migration Laws
The course Migration Laws uses a revised textbook in English, based on the original edition. This course aims to teach the postgraduate students the original legal English, to train the postgraduate students the skill of translating legal documents or legal works, as well as to let them familiar with Migration Laws, which include: Basic Theory Concerning Migration Law; Legal System of Passport and Visa; the Entry and Exit Law of the PRC; Migration and Nationality Laws; Migration Laws of Some Countries in Asia, North America, Europe, and Some Regions in Africa as well as in Oceania, etc. In order to lay a solid foundation of legal English and international law if they will take more advanced studies at home or abroad, and engaged in the professional work concerning foreign affairs. The language used in teaching the course should be English.
15. Law of the Sea
Law of the Sea is one of the optional courses offered by the LL.M. Program in Chinese Law. This course is aimed to provide a comprehensive guide which summarizes the current principles and rules governing the international law of the sea. Topics include the rights and responsibilities of states in various zones of the oceans, fisheries and non-living resources, vessel nationality and jurisdiction over vessels, maritime terrorism and security, maritime boundary delimitation and baselines, marine environment and dispute settlement mechanisms. The text discusses the widely accepted United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other relevant treaties, legislation, and jurisprudence, including U.S. and European laws, cases, and practice.
16. Law and Economics
The course module of Chinese Company Law is one of the optional courses offered by the LL.M. Program in Chinese Law. Law and economics is a cross disciplinary that employs economic tools in law, and perhaps becomes the most successful of all the “Law and X” disciplines. Economists claim to be able to make not only predictive statements about how people act and what the results of policies will be, but also normative statements about what policies will further welfare and efficiency and whether welfare and efficiency are desirable goals. The course aims at providing an economic tools and concepts for all students as a means of analyzing law and the legal framework. The course will start out with (and periodically return to) basic questions, such as: What is utility? What is rationality, and how might people deviate from it? What is efficiency, and is it worth pursuing? Then it will go on to cover the economic analysis of the basic fields, including but not limited to property, contracts, torts, criminal law, and procedure. The course is designed for students without any previous exposure to economics; all the necessary economics will be taught en route. Nonetheless, former economics majors should feel at home too. Graduates of the program will possess a solid grounding in Legal theory and modern Economics that will enable them to conduct, assess, and supervise both theoretical and applied research in the field.
17. Chinese Intellectual Property Laws
With the advent of the knowledge-based economy, intellectual property rights are playing an increasingly important role in everyday economic lives, especially in international trade. This course is designed for LL.M program in Chinese laws, the subject matter of which is among the most concerned area for foreign students who come to China for an in-depth understanding of Chinese laws. This course covers fundamentals on China Copyright Law, Patent Law, Trademark Law and Unfair Competition law, including their respective subject matters, conditions for acquisition, ownership, exclusive rights, exploitation, infringement, enforcement and remedies. In addition, fundamentals for international protection for intellectual property rights and the essential treaties, such as Berne Convention, Paris Convention, TRIPS Agreement, will also be discussed in light of Chinese Intellectual Property Laws. Because the life of law is not in paper book, this course proceeds with case materials and discussion. The students are expected to play an active role in the teaching course. The course features representative foreign-related copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret and unfair competition cases.
