030377 KU Introduction to Chinese Law (2025S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Fr 21.03.2025 10:00 to Sa 31.05.2025 23:59
- Deregistration possible until Fr 06.06.2025 23:59
Details
max. 40 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
Instructor:
Prof. Dr. Chang Wang, wang0804@umn.edu
https://chinacenter.umn.edu/about-us/advisory-council/wang-chang
- N Friday 06.06. 13:30 - 17:30 Seminarraum SEM44 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 4.OG
- Tuesday 10.06. 09:00 - 15:00 Seminarraum SEM51 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 5.OG
- Wednesday 11.06. 09:00 - 15:00 Seminarraum SEM63 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 6.OG
- Thursday 12.06. 14:00 - 16:00 Seminarraum SEM52 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 5.OG
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Assessment and permitted materials
Readings for the seminar will include translated statutes and party documents, cases, history, and law
review articles. Viewings for the seminar will include selected clips from fictional and documentary films
on the Chinese legal system as well as Chinese artistic expressions devoted to human rights to enhance
students’ learning.The Course will use Oxford Debate Style; grades will follow the level of argumentation in discussion and a final exam/reflection statement.
review articles. Viewings for the seminar will include selected clips from fictional and documentary films
on the Chinese legal system as well as Chinese artistic expressions devoted to human rights to enhance
students’ learning.The Course will use Oxford Debate Style; grades will follow the level of argumentation in discussion and a final exam/reflection statement.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Examination topics
Reading list
Course materials will be provided; Readings for the seminar will include translated statutes and party documents, cases, history, and law
review articles. Viewings for the seminar will include selected clips from fictional and documentary films
on the Chinese legal system as well as Chinese artistic expressions devoted to human rights to enhance
students’ learning.• Inside China’s Legal System, by Chang Wang and Nathan Madson, Chandos Publishing, 2013.
• The Legal System of The People’s Republic of China in a Nutshell, by Daniel Chow, Thomson West, 2003.
• Understanding China’s Legal System, ed. by Stephen Hsu, New York University Press, 2002.
• China’s Long March toward Rule of Law, by Randy Peerenboom, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• The Search of Modern China, by Jonathan Spence, W.W. Norton & Co., 2nd Edition, 1999
• China, A New History, by John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman, Belknap, 2nd Edition, 2006
review articles. Viewings for the seminar will include selected clips from fictional and documentary films
on the Chinese legal system as well as Chinese artistic expressions devoted to human rights to enhance
students’ learning.• Inside China’s Legal System, by Chang Wang and Nathan Madson, Chandos Publishing, 2013.
• The Legal System of The People’s Republic of China in a Nutshell, by Daniel Chow, Thomson West, 2003.
• Understanding China’s Legal System, ed. by Stephen Hsu, New York University Press, 2002.
• China’s Long March toward Rule of Law, by Randy Peerenboom, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• The Search of Modern China, by Jonathan Spence, W.W. Norton & Co., 2nd Edition, 1999
• China, A New History, by John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman, Belknap, 2nd Edition, 2006
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Mo 24.03.2025 14:25
ever increasing influence of the Western jurisprudence, in modern and contemporary China. We will discuss in length the formation of “Rule by Law” as a “grand narrative” in its historical context, the controversy around different interpretations of “Civil Rights”, and the burgeoning legal reform in the
Mainland China.
The seminar begins with study of legal traditions and core assumptions underlying the role of law in China,
followed by comparative analysis of respective legal conventions and beliefs in China and in Western
countries. The seminar will introduce 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 seminar will examine in detail contemporary China’s approach to human rights law, focusing on
how Chinese authority and academia interpret and address key principles and doctrines of international
human rights law, and following specific issues: 1) the traditional relationship of the individual to the state;
2) rule by law vs. rule of law; 3) judicial independence and judicial integrity and 4) due process.
The seminar will examine Western, especially American, influence and what role American jurisprudence
has played in the “modernization” of the Chinese legal system. Attention will be given to cross-cultural
misunderstanding and misinterpretation, and the interaction between culture and law.
Students will be given an opportunity to look at China’s place in the world, to question general
assumptions of universal rule of law, to describe the dominant legal themes and their development in
different cultures, and to compare and contrast respective legal conventions and beliefs of different
cultures. This seminar will help students to develop a better understanding of the legal system of China
from a comparative perspective and to predict legal actions and outcomes across cultures from a
practical point of view.