The State of Legal Development in China: Issues, Evidence and Analysis
April 21, 2014
Levy Conference Center, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Since 2007, Renmin University Law School has produced regular comprehensive reports
documenting the state of legal development in China. These annual reports compile relevant
data and provide empirically grounded assessments of the state of the legal system in China,
China’s evolving legal culture and norms, and the rule of law in the Chinese context.
The University of Pennsylvania Law School is honored to welcome the dean of Renmin
University Law School, Professor Han Dayuan, and four of his colleagues, including Professor
Zhu Jingwen, the principal editor of the annual report series, for a one-day conference to
examine critical issues in Chinese law and findings from their research.
Leading scholars from Renmin University will address three key areas vital to China’s legal
development: (1) Legal Education and the Legal Profession, (2) Current Issues in Criminal
Justice Reform, and (3) Rights and the Rule of Law. U.S.-based experts in these areas and U.S.based scholars of Chinese law will offer commentary from comparative and cross-disciplinary
perspectives.
9:00-9:15
Registration
9:15-10:00
Welcome, Opening Remarks
and Introduction to The Report on Legal Development in China
Jacques deLisle, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Dean Han Dayuan, Renmin University Law School
Zhu Jingwen, Renmin University Law School
Introduction to The Report on Legal Development in China
10:00– 12:00 Panel I:
Chair:
Legal Education and the Legal Profession
Amy Gadsden, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Presenters:
Zhu Jingwen, An Analysis of the Professionalization of Lawyers in
China
Han Dayuan, Legal Education and the Development of the Rule of
Law in China
Commentators:
Robert Reinstein, Temple Law School
David Trubek, University of Wisconsin Law School
Carl Minzner, Fordham Law School
12:00 – 1:00 Break
1:00– 3:00:
Panel II: Current Issues in Criminal Justice Reform
Chair:
Jacques deLisle
Presenters: He Jiahong, Wrongful Convictions and Judicial Reform in China
Shi Yanan, Ending Reeducation through Labor and the Issue of
Preventive Detention
Commentators:
Markus Dubber, University of Toronto Law School
Margaret Lewis, Seton Hall Law School
Martin Flaherty, Fordham Law School
3:00- 3:15
Coffee / Tea Break
3:15 – 5:15
Panel III: Rights and the Rule of Law
Chair: Neysun Mahboubi, University of Pennsylvania CSCC
Presenter: Lu Haina, The Development of Anti-discrimination Law in China
Han Dayuan, Emerging Issues in Property Rights Protection
Commentators:
Cynthia Estlund, NYU Law School
Donald Clarke, George Washington University Law School
Serena Mayeri, University of Pennsylvania Law School
5:15
Closing Remarks and Adjournment
Han Dayuan and Jacques deLisle
6:00
Dinner (Han Dynasty Restaurant)
2