University of California at Berkeley:

Comparative Law: China

LAW 421. CLINICAL: DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA - PEERENBOOM

This survey course examines the role of law in China from a comparative rule of law perspective. The first part of the course will focus on the theories, institutions and operation of law in classical, imperial and Maoist China. The second part of the course will examine contemporary legal and political institutions, the law-making process, interpretation and implementation of law, dispute resolution, and public awareness of and attitudes toward law. The third part will take up specific areas of law such as foreign investment laws, criminal law, freedom of speech and the press and human rights. Topics covered include the relation of law to morality, economic development, democracy and human rights; legal reform issues confronting modernizing countries and transitional economies; and the interaction between culture and law.

LAW 421. CLINICAL: DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA - PEERENBOOM

This course will be taught as a hands-on clinic. Students will be asked to respond to client inquiries and to negotiate and draft key clauses of a joint venture contract, technology license agreement, land use contract and other ancillary documents. Topics covered include representative offices, the approval process, choice of investment vehicle, due diligence and asset evaluation, foreign exchange, tax, dispute resolution, insurance, liquidation, land use rights, technology licensing, intellectual property protection, labor, taking security, wholly-foreign owned enterprises, holding companies, reorganizations and M&A, project finance and securities. The course will provide a solid foundation for lawyers and business people who will be doing business in China.

International Business Transactions with China and Chinese Securities Law

Professor Xiqing Gao, who is a professor at China Foreign Economics and Trade University and Adjunct Professor at Duke Law School.

Chinese Legal History.

A survey of Chinese legal history that focuses on late imperial law in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Attention will also be given to the legal transformations in the twentieth century. The course examines the way in which a legal system creates and reflects a society's structures and values in a mutually interactive process that constructs a particular "legal sensibility." Readings are drawn from Chinese codes, cases, and "detective novels" as well as, for comparative purposes, from European and American legal history. No previous background in Chinese history is required or expected. For the spring 1996, Chinese Legal History will emphasize Chinese legal thought, using institutional and case studies for illustrative purposes. 2 s.h., spring, Ocko.

Chinese for Legal Studies

Adjunct Prof. Lin

 An introduction to the terminology and basic concepts of Chinese law. Reading and analysis of legal texts (codes, cases, contracts, wills). Communication about law and law-related issues in Chinese. Prerequisite: three semesters or equivalent of Chinese, consent of instructor.2 s.h., spring, Lin.

 Chinese law taught by Prof. James V. Feinerman.

Comparative Law: The Role of Law in Chinese Society

 Professor Alford

 3 credits 32950-11 Fall

 Events of recent years on the Chinese mainland, on Taiwan and in Hong Kong pose fundamental questions about legality, human rights, and economic development. This course will examine these questions in their jurisprudential and historical contexts. It is designed to provide students with an introduction to the nature and function of law in China, to foster comparative legal analysis that tests generalizations about law derived principally from the West, and to equip future practitioners to address legal problems arising from interaction with China. There are no prerequisites. The course initially will focus upon China legal history. Particular attention will be paid to traditional Chinese views on the role of law in society, to the legal aspects of early Sino-Western interaction, and to efforts to introduce foreign models of law into China. The remainder of the course will center on contemporary Chinese society. Issues to be examined in this part of the course include (1) legal dimensions of Chinese of human rights and the relationship of the individual to the state (with special reference to the status of women); and (3) the place of law in China Multilithed materials.

 Comparative Law Seminar: China and Foreign/International Law

 Professor Alford and Mr. Hecht

 2 credits 90800-31 Spring

 This seminar will examine Sino-foreign interaction with respect to law in an effort to understand the cultural assumptions that underlie both the Chinese legal tradition and an international legal order formed chiefly by students with a brief introduction to China traditional Chinese ideas about world order and assesses the character of China eighteenth century through the formation of the Republic of China in the early twentieth century. The second unit delves into selected dimensions of the People upon Western models. The course including, most likely, the Taiwan and Hong Kong situations, and China contemporary Sino-foreign legal interaction. Particular attention will be devoted to the area of human rights. The course has no prerequisites. Reading will consist of Multilithed materials prepared by the instructor. Students wishing to do required third year or LL.M. papers on Chinese law are urged to do them in conjunction with this seminar.

Comparative Law Seminar: The Use of Legality to Transform Chinese Society

 Professor Alford, Not offered 1995-96

 This seminar will examine the growth of formal legality in modern Chinese society and efforts to enlist it to expedite development. Class will be divided into two parts. The first two thirds of the semester will be devoted to discussion of a common set of readings, while the final third will be devoted to presentations by students of the preliminary findings of their seminar papers. The seminar will commence with a consideration of pertinent aspects of both traditional and modern Chinese legal history, with particular attention to differing conceptions of the place of law in a well functioning society. Turning to the contemporary Chinese scene, we will focus on the use of law to recast and integrate the Chinese economy into the international marketplace. As we do so, we will explore the elaboration of formal legal institutions (including a legal profession) and consider their interaction with more indigenous customary vehicles for the resolution of disputes. The seminar will also address the implications of Chinese legal reform generally for the growth of political and social rights (including, in particular, the status of women). Throughout we will endeavor to compare the Chinese example with that of other nations and to use it to test the theoretical literature on development. The course has no prerequisites.

Readings in Chinese Law

 Prof. Lawrence C. Foster

 A sampling of Chinese language legal materials (primary and secondary) designed to give the student a familiarity with legal terminology currently in use in Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.

Law and Society in China

 Prof. Alison Conner

 This course is intended to provide students with an overview of the historical foundations of Chinese law as well as an introduction to the present legal system in the People's Republic of China. The first part of the course will survey classical legal theory, the administration of justice during the Qing dynasty and late Qing-Republican legal reforms. The second part will analyze the development of current PRC legal institutions (including the role of the judiciary and legal professionals) and then focus on key areas of recent PRC legislation: dispute resolution, the criminal process, family laws and the status of women, and political rights. As a conclusion, comparisons will be drawn with the legal systems in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore--what is uniquely Chinese about their development?

 Chinese Business Law

 Prof. Alison Conner

 This course is intended to provide an introduction to business and commercial law in the People's Republic of China. After a brief overview of China's political and legal system, the course will examine basic areas of domestic business legislation, including torts and contract law, the regulation of private business, the reform of state enterprises, the development of company and securities laws, and the regulation of land-use and other property rights. More specialized topics, such as arbitration and dispute resolution, the Chinese approach to intellectual property issues, or the use of joint ventures and other foreign investment vehicles, may also be included.
 
 

Asian Comparative Law

 Prof. Alison Conner

 This course in intended to provide an introduction to the civil law tradition, particularly as exemplified by the legal systems of East and South East Asia. After a brief review of comparative law study and the historical development of civil law, the course will examine the structure and role of the courts, the judicial process, constitutional law and administrative law in Western Europe and in the Asian civil law countries.

Asian Comparative Labor Law

 Prof. Ronald Brown

 This course will examine comparative law issues, area studies of Asian legal systems, and focus on Asian labor laws and their administration in c comparative Asian context. Some emphasis may be given to how that may affect foreign direct investment, and also, how the laws may relate to foreign migrant contract workers, both as to sending and host countries. Attention will be given to China and Japan, and topics and discussions will compare legal approaches used by these and other Asian countries in dealing with common issues. A research paper is required in lieu of an examination.

Transition in Socialist Legal Systems: Vietnam and China

 Prof. Mark Sidel
 
 

Chinese Legal Documents Seminar

 Prof. Mark Sidel

Doing Business with China: Law and Policy

 Prof. Clyde Stoltenberg at the University of Kansas Business School

This course explores the legal and policy implications of doing business with China. Topics for consideration include recent agricultural and industrial developments in China, the Chinese legal system, and import and export implication.

Chinese Law

 Adjunct Prof. Frankie Fook-Lun Leung

 This course will address such topics as Chinese legal tradition, contemporary and constitutional development, legal education and procedure, business and trade topics. It will also cover specific areas such as criminal law, economic regulation, civil liability, property law, civil procedure, and alternative modes of dispute resolution. Although the course will not offer writing credit, each student will write a midterm paper and a final paper. There will be no examination.

Introduction to Chinese Law, Trade and Society

Prof. Gerard Rault

This two hour elective introduces the student to Chinese histroy and culture, the sturcture of her developing legal system, general principles of Chinese law and a variety of topical business and trade issues.

Chinese Law

 2 Credits, Prof. Hungdah Chiu

 U.S. relations with East Asia have grown rapidly in recent years, and U.S. trade with East Asia is now surpassing that with Western Europe. This is the only law school course dealing with that area. In the first part of the course, consideration is given to the traditional Chinese society and its legal institutions, the introduction of the Western legal system to China, and the Republican government's effort to modernize the Chinese legal system before the Chinese Communists' takeover in 1949. The second part of the course will deal with law, society, constitutional development, modernization of the political system, trade, and investment in the Republic of China on Taiwan, which is the sixth largest trading partner of the United States. The third part is a comparative analysis of Taiwan's legal, political, trade and investment, and social development with the Chinese communist controlled mainland, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Comparative Law: People's Republic of China (2) (ILS120)

 Professor B. J. George, Jr.

 This course systematically considers the social and political thought and institutions of the PRC; law reform in the PRC; China's legal tradition; law and the family in a revolutionary society; dispute resolution; lawyers in the PRC; creation of a Chinese socialist market economy; legal regulation of "horizontal" relationships, and emerging PRC labor law.

 A comparative research paper is required on a topic selected in consultation with the instructor.

Law and Society in China

 2 credits, Mr. Hugh Scogin

 The course will deal with the development of the indigenous Chinese Legal tradition, in the context of Confucian, Legalist and Taoist philosophy, the reform of law in modern China and the emerging legal framework for foreign investment in China. The Confucian legal tradition is at the core of the legal cultures of East Asia including Japan, Korea, and much of Southeast Asia. The first part of the course serves as an introduction to that tradition. Contemporary China has seen an effort to create a new legal system in the context of transforming a Communist command economy into a market system. The second part of the course looks at the role of the law in this process from the perspective of domestic actors as well as foreign investors. Fall 1996.

Comparative International Law

 Professor Jerome Cohen

 Analyzing how countries with a Confucian tradition relate to the international laws and traditions of "the Christian West."

International Business Transactions with China and East Asia (L05.3019)

2 credits. Prof. Choen This course will focus on the legal and practical aspects of doing business with China, but comparisons will frequently be made with how these problems, which are typical of those encountered in international transactions generally, are handled in other East Asian developing countries. After identifying the distinctive features of China's political, economic and legal environments, we will review relevant Chinese contract law and the problems of negotiating and implementing sales, compensation trade and technology transfer contracts. We will then discuss formal and informal dispute resolution before turning our attention to the principal options available to potential foreign investors and the relevant legal and fiscal regimes applicable to them. Thereafter, we will work through the phases of negotiating a typical equity joint venture contract for the establishment of a Sino foreign manufacturing enterprise from the letter of intent and joint feasibility study to the final contract including the articles of association of the venture and other appended documents. We will end the course with an overview of China's intellectual property regimes patents, trademarks and copyrights. A paper may be written in addition to or in lieu of an examination. Professor Cohen. Spring 1997.

China's Legal Tradition

 2 credits, Professor Chang

 This course is to study china's legal tradition and its contribution to jurisprudence in general. Special attention will be paid to the theories of several ancient thinkers, including Confucius, Laotzu and Han Fei, focusing on their answers to such basic questions as why does society need law, who has the authority to make law. What are the bases of law, what are law's objective, what happens if law conflicts with other social norm, who apply and enforce the law, how should law be applied and enforced, and what alternative ways and means are there to solve disputes. Spring 1997.

East Asia, Marketization and Democracy

Prof. Margaret Y. K. Woo

1999 Course Syllabus

MEETINGS
Mondays - 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Wednesdays - 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.

Required Texts
Woo's Comparative Law Materials.
Materials should be purchased at Gnomon Copy prior to first day of class.

Regular class attendance and participation are expected.

Presentations and Papers

Seminar requirements include a short mid-term reflective paper, a final research paper, and if time permits, an in-class presentation of your research in progress.

Course Description

This course examines the legal systems in several countries of the Far East, selected based on their varying stages of privatization. The course will focus on three areas: First, the course will examine the cultural differences between Eastern traditions and Western traditions, and how these differences play out in the legal systems examined. Second, the course will focus on the forces of privatization and the political, social and legal institutions established to encourage this process of change. Third, the course will focus on the intended and unintended consequences of the injection of these institutions on the formation of the state -- e.g. issues of democracy, equality (with a focus on gender), and human rights. By looking at the theoretical underpinnings of legal systems different from the United States, and by the use of comparative methodology, students are encouraged to question the cultural assumptions underlying the American legal system as well as the power of law as a force for social change. Enrollment is limited. 3 quarter hours.

Law and Economic Reform in Contemporary China (S)
3 sem. hrs. deLisle. Spring.

For nearly a quarter-century, China has been engaged in a sweeping, if fitful, process of market-oriented economic reforms that have made the Chinese economy one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. From the beginning of this period, legal reforms have been high on the political agenda and have played a central role in these economic developments. After a brief survey of classical and other pre-1949 Chinese thought on law and the economy, major Western theories of law and economic development and regulation, and pre-1978 economic law and regulation in the People's Republic, the course examines in greater depth selected topics in reform-era economic law, such as: contract law, management reforms, taxation and financial reforms, bankruptcy and ownership reform, company law, "economic crime" and corruption, administrative law constraints on economic regulation, institutions of economic legislation, and the special regimes for foreign trade and investment (and related issues of international law and U.S. foreign relations law).

China and International Law (S)
3 sem. hrs. deLisle. Spring.

During the last quarter-century, China has become a principal participant in the international legal order. The PRC's entry into the WTO in 2001 was a major milestone in its long march to membership in almost all of the major international organizations. China has enacted and repeatedly amended elaborate legal frameworks for foreign investment and trade, acceded to (or promised to accede to) major international conventions, entered into myriad bilateral agreements, engaged in the legal and political debates over international human rights and the rule of law, negotiated and disputed with other states over several of the major contemporary cases of unsettled territory, and become (directly or through its instrumentalities) a frequent party to, or focus of scrutiny in, transnational litigation.

This seminar examines contemporary China's approach to international law, focusing on how China has understood and addressed key principles and doctrines of international law, and on international legal disputes and actions that have been important for China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong). Specific topics to be covered include China's approach to sources of international law, treaties, statehood and sovereignty, the relationship between domestic and international law, state jurisdiction, immunity and responsibility, international dispute resolution, the law of the sea, human rights, the use of force and international economic law. In each of these areas, the course addresses concrete contemporary controversies as well as broader patterns and underlying issues.

Introductory sessions will focus on major themes in China's earlier approach to international law, including those that emerged during the Maoist/high socialist period, the 19th-century encounter with Western powers and their conception of international law, and "traditional" Chinese approaches to international law (during the late imperial period and in classical Chinese thought).

Chinese for Lawyers

Adjunct Prof. Louis Schwartz & Heidi Zhang

Chinese for Lawyers is a course in Mandarin Chinese in a legal context, offered through the Center for International Legal Education.  Chinese for Lawyers acquaints students with grammatical structures necessary for effective communication in Chinese, introduces basic legal and business vocabulary in Chinese and strives to give a sense of the cultural, legal and business environments in China.  The course materials are organized as a series of dialogues written in Chinese Characters, the Pinyin romanization equivalent and English translation.  The materials are tied together as a story of an American lawyer who travels to the People's Republic of China to negotiate and establish a joint venture on behalf of an American company.

No prior instruction in Chinese is required for Chinese for Lawyers I.  Grade are determined based on class participation, homework assignments and a final exam.

Chinese for Lawyers II is a continuation of Chinese for Lawyers I.  Students desiring to enroll in Chinese for Lawyers II should have either completed Chinese for Lawyers I or have had a minimum of one semester of prior study.
 

Regent University School of Law

Chinese Law

LAW 575 Chinese Law (2) This course is an introduction to Chinese culture, history, and philosophy, including Confucianism, ancient China, the rise of the Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China. Individual legal topics addressed include the Chinese Constitution, human rights, religious liberty, joint-venture law, intellectual property infringement, family law, and criminal
law. There will also be a section on law in Taiwan and the history of law affecting Chinese-Americans. Students are immersed in Chinese culture, so that they can experience Chinese law as if they were on Chinese soil.

Communist Chinese Law Seminar

 2 credits, Prof. George Ginsburgs

 Surveys the nature of the changes instituted in all the major branches of law in mainland China after 1949. Topics include the introduction of a revolutionary legal system in China, the degree of borrowing from the former Soviet Union, the survival of traditional Chinese legal concepts, the uses of the law to effect revolutionary social change, the development of an autonomous Communist Chinese legal model, and the influence of the Chinese experience abroad.

Chinese Trade and Investment Law

Prof. Anna M. Han

The course teaches both the analysis of PRC trade investment laws from the perspective of practitioners who must apply them to specific fact patterns and requires detailed analysis on how well these laws achieve the Chinese goal of modernization on a macro policy level.  The students are first given lecture on the Chinese trade and investment environment and are then responsible for an oral presenation of a specific law.  The course requires a paper at the end of the semester on a topic agreed to between the prfessor and the student.
 

 Chinese Law

 Prof. Janet Ainsworth

 This course will take a comparative law approach to examining the development of legal discourse in China. We will be asking whether there are characteristic Chinese attitudes towards the law, and tracing the influence of these attitudes on the historical evolution of the Chinese legal system. The course is designed to stimulate insights into the nature of our own legal order and through exposure to the contrasting legal worlds of imperial and contemporary China.

We will begin by considering the debate as to the nature and purpose of law by the Confucianists and Legalists occurring about two thousand years ago. From there the course will examine the Chinese systems of criminal law, contract law and marriage law as they evolved during the Chinese imperial dynasties. Special attention will be given to Chinese conventions of dispute resolution, contrasting Chinese dispute resolution with Western style litigation. Among the questions we will examine are: What sorts of behavior were considered criminal, and how were criminal sanctions applied? When did Chinese citizens go to court to resolve disputes, and what alternatives to formal litigation did they have for dispute resolution? Who were the judges in imperial China, and how did they make legal decisions? What did imperial China consider "justice", and how does it differ from evolving Western concepts of justice?

After examining the rich legal tradition of imperial China, we will study the legal system of the People's Republic of China, looking at the law promulgated in the early years of the Communist government, the dismantling of the legal system during the years of the Cultural Revolution, and the renewed emphasis on codification of law in the past decade. We will examine the same areas of law that we looked at in our study of imperial China and we will be considering issues of continuity and change in contemporary Chinese law: How "Chinese" is today's legal system? How "socialist"? How much Western influence exists? We will compare legal process and institutions with those in the United States, and will reflect on issues of human rights in China today.

Readings for the course will include translated excerpts from cases, short stories and writings of Chinese philosophers and officials, as well as secondary descriptive sources on Chinese law. Students will have the option of writing a research paper on a topic to be approved by the professor or taking an out-of-class final exam. 3 credits

Law and Society in China

    Taught by Mr. Huge Scogin from 1987-1993

Chinese legal traditions and philosophy, the reform of law in modern China, and the emerging legal framework for foreign investment in China. The negotiation and drafting of contracts.

Chinese Law

 (3 credits), Prof. Hilary K. Josephs

 Overview of a legal system of another major power distinctive from the U.S. in terms of historical development, economic structure, and political organization. Development of the Chinese legal system since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949: social, political, and economic factors. Procedure, contracts, labor law, and foreign economic relationships. For the detail course information, check the syllabus at http://syllabus.syr.edu/LAW/hkjoseph/law001/index.htm

Law in East Asia: China

4 Credits (0,3,0) Prof. Don Clarke

Introduction to the basic institutions and processes of the legal system of the People's Republic of China. The course will focus on the contemporary system and its role in relation to political, economic, and social developments. Some attention will be given to historical background. A paper in lieu of a final examination may be required, depending upon enrollment and instructor preference. Joint offering with SISEA 543.

Intellectual Property Law in East Asia

3 Credits (0,0,3) Prof. Frank Liu

This is a course for the comparative study of patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws of the Pacific Rim nations. Special emphasis will be given to the intellectual property laws of Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan. Issues covered include piracy and counterfeiting; computer hardware and software legal protection; patentability of computer programs; administration and enforcement procedures for intellectual property law; management of intellectual property; licensing agreements; and technology transfer. Some background in intellectual property law is preferred but not required.

Law of China

(3 credits) Prof. Frances Foster

 Introduction to the legal system of the People's Republic of China, with emphasis on criminal law.

Legal Aspects of Doing Business with Greater China

Spring 1999 3credits 5:40-7:00 p.m. TR Law Building 3260

The course will provide an analytical framework for a better understanding of the legal environment for doing business in Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Class topics will cover:

1. Chinese Legal Tradition (cases will be discussed to illustrate the significant impact of traditional culture on modern legal system);

2. Contemporary Legal Systems of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong (an introduction to key points of the political and legal systems in the three jurisdictions);

3. Role of Law in Chinese Society (an examination of the interaction between legal system and the network structure in the "real world" of Greater China);

4. Chinese Business Law (focusing on recent issues that foreign business has encountered in Greater China as well as dispute resolution); and

5. Greater China and the Word Trade Organization (WTO) (a brief review and prospective of the hottest issues in the world trade system).

The class will end with students' presentation of their papers. 

Workshop on Chinese Legal Reform

 1 unit, credit/fail; 2 or 3 graded units with paper. This will be a workshop to examine legal development in China today. Typically, guests from other universities in the U.S. or China will present papers or discuss current issues. Students participating in the workshop will receive one unit of ungraded credit; additional graded credit is possible for students wishing to write a research paper. P. Gewirtz and J. Hecht.

University of British Columbia Faculty of Law:
 
 

Prof. Pitman B. Potter

 - Introduction to Chinese Law

 - Seminar of Trade and Investment Law in the PRC

Also offer a Graduate Tutorial on "Problems in Asian Legal Systems", and a first year lecture course, "Introduction to Asian Legal Systems," both of which contain a significant China law component.