European China Law Studies Association

The 17th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association will be held in Helsinki, Finland, from 20 to 22 September 2023. The conference will be hosted and organized by the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki in cooperation with the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture.

The ECLS is dedicated to advancing comparative and interdisciplinary research on Chinese law in Europe. The annual conference of the ECLS gathers scholars, legal practitioners and policymakers from all over the world. It is a leading international academic forum for the debate on the development of Chinese law, as well as a platform for the initiation of research collaboration.

Topics

The Annual Conference Organizing Committee is now inviting submissions. The 2023 ECLS Annual 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

Guidelines for Submission

The conference invites submissions of paper abstracts and panel proposals by 19 March 2023, noting that all submissions will be peer-reviewed. Notification of acceptance will be given by 19 April 2023. Full papers should not exceed 8,000 words, and be submitted by 18 June 2023.

Submissions should be entered via the submission page.

Paper Abstracts and Panel Proposals

Abstracts should be limited to 300 words for a paper and panel proposals should be limited to 1,000 words for a panel session. The submissions should include: 1) the title of the paper or panel; 2) name, institution and email address of the author(s); 3) up to five keywords.

Young Scholars Roundtable

The conference welcomes abstracts and proposals from young researchers (PhD candidates, MA students, etc.). Young scholars’ sessions will be organized as roundtables to be moderated by senior researchers.

Important Dates

March 19, 2023 – Submission of abstracts/panel proposals

April 19, 2023 – Notification of acceptance

June 18, 2023 – Submission of full papers

Venue

The Conference will take place at the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 34, 00100 Helsinki, Finland.

Practical Information

Conference participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs. Relevant practical information will be provided in due course.

For enquiries regarding submissions, please contact Professor Björn Ahl (bjoern.ahl@me.com). Other enquiries concerning visa issues or logistics are to be addressed to Ms. Ngoc Pham (ngoc.pham@helsinki.fi).

More information and updates may be found on the website of the hosts in Helsinki.

The 16th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 21 to 23 September 2022.

The conference will be 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.

The ECLS is a major international venue to gather scholars, practitioners and policy makers to debate on the development of law in China from both comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives. The annual conference of the ECLS is a leading international academic forum for the exchange of information and ideas on Chinese law, as well as a platform for the initiation of research collaboration.

Good news for scholars outside of Europe: This year’s conference is held in a hybrid format.

Topics

The Annual Conference Organizing Committee is now inviting submissions for inclusion in the Conference 2022 programme. The 2022 ECLS Annual Conference will highlight legal issues relating to the topics as 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
• 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

European China Law Studies Association Annual Conference 2022 (pdf)

Important Dates

• June 20, 2022 – Submission of Abstracts/panel proposals
• June 25, 2022 –Notification on acceptance
• September 8, 2022 – Submission of full papers 

Submission of Papers

Submissions should be entered via the submission page. Conference participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs. Relevant practical information will be provided in due course.
The conference invites submissions of paper abstracts and panel proposals by 20 June 2022, noting that all submissions will be peer-reviewed by the organizing committee. Notification of acceptance will be given by 25
June 2022. Full papers should not exceed 8,000 words, and be submitted by 8 September 2022.

• Paper Abstract / Panel Session

Abstracts should be limited to 300 words for a paper and panel proposals should be limited to 1,000 words for a panel session.
The submissions should include: 1) the title of the paper or panel; 2) name, institution and email address of the author(s); 3) up to five keywords.

• Young Scholars Roundtable

The conference welcomes abstracts and proposals from young researchers (PhD candidates, MA students, etc.).
Young scholars’ sessions will be organized as roundtables to be moderated by senior researchers.

Contact

For enquiries regarding submissions, please contact Dr. Wen Xiang (wen.xiang@jur.ku.dk).

Other enquiries concerning visa issues or logistics are to be addressed to Ms. Maryna Pagels (maryna.pagels@jur.ku.dk).

The European China Law Studies Association supports workshops on Chinese law in 2019.  

Applicants must be members of ECLS and workshops should be conducted at universities or research institutions in Europe. At least half of the active participants of the workshop should be members of ECLS. The application must contain the name of the organizer/applicant with full contact information, the name of the academic institution, where the workshop will be conducted as well as a title and abstract of the workshop. 

The amount available is up to 1,200 Euros per workshop. Only costs directly linked to the workshop are eligible for reimbursement such as costs of travel and accommodation of active participants, costs for venue and catering. Applicants should also submit proof of available co-funding. Please submit your application by 15 March 2019 at: bjoern.ahl@uni-koeln.de.

15th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association from September 24 – 26. Find the final programme here and register here.

1. Introduction

The Polish Research Centre for Law and Economy of China and the University of Warsaw School of Law and Economy of China are happy to join the fine tradition and exciting opportunity to host the Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association (ECLS). The conference will take place in Warsaw (Poland).

2. Main tracks

We are confident that the Conference will attract a diverse array of scholars and exciting scholarship on a wide range of issues. We expect to structure panels and presentations on a wide variety of topics related to the Chinese legal system. There is no strict category of tracks or themes to which papers must be aligned. Nonetheless, we encourage and particularly invite contributions that address the following themes:

• Blockchain, big data & artificial intelligence in China
• Sino-US trade war and its legal implications for Europe
• Legal aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative
• Codification of Laws in China
• Rule of Law and Chinese Constitutionalism
• Chinese and Comparative Labour Law
• Legal Issues of Poland-China Relations
• Chinese law and society
• China’s new structure of Party and state
• National supervision law and the new supervisory mechanism
• New developments in China’s judicial reforms
• China in the international legal order

As with previous ECLS conferences, the event is open to any other contributions with regard to Chinese law (as always, broadly conceived), in particular, those addressing China’s recent legal development.

3. Format

ECLS aims to ensure diversity in formats of presentation and discussion. We very much encourage the submission of papers for presentation in panels, as well as proposals for full panels or book presentations. Nevertheless, we also encourage proposals for innovative modes of participation that depart from traditional models of interaction.

We invite submissions as follows, noting that all proposals will be subject to peer-review by the organizing committees:

Paper abstract: scholars interested in presenting papers are invited to submit an abstract of up to 300 words. Please include: 1) the title of the paper; 2) name, institution and email address of the author(s); 3) up to five keywords.

Panel session: scholars are also welcome to submit proposals for full panel sessions, which include 4 papers; or 3 papers and a discussant. Proposals (up to 1000 words) should be submitted by the convener of the panel (who can also serve as the chair), and include abstracts of all proposed papers as well as a short integrative statement explaining the theme of the panel (all in one document). Please include also: 1) the title of the panel; 2) name, institution and email address of the author(s); 3) up to five keywords of a panel session.

Book presentation: scholars who recently published a book around an important Chinese law issue, are invited to propose a panel with 4 speakers (author & discussants). Proposals for a book presentation require a short explanation of the book’s importance and brief biographies of the participants.

Young scholars format: this year we are looking forward to receiving proposals from young researchers (young postdocs; i.e. 5 years from the PhD award, PhD candidates, MA students). Young scholars’ participation will promote scientific discussion and cooperation with senior colleagues working in the field of Chinese law.

Alternative formats: we also invite people to signal their interest in other forms of presentation and participation; roundtables or ‘fishbowls’ in which people make short interventions addressing themes or issues from the standpoint of their research, ‘TED’–style short talks on specific topics of interest; moderated or ‘hot seat’ encounters with a guest; films – plus discussion; art exhibits and music. The conference organizers will ensure that papers of presenters in alternative formats are available on the conference website.

The Polish Research Centre for Law and Economy of China will collaborate with the ECLS in peer-reviewing the submissions.

4. Key dates

30 May 2021 – Last day to submit abstracts/panel proposals

10 June 2021 – Decisions on acceptance of papers/panel proposals

6 September 2021 – Last day to submit full papers

Find the final programme here

6. Venue

The Conference will take place in Collegium Iuridicum II building (Faculty of Law and Administration University of Warsaw) at Lipowa 4 street in Warsaw. Collegium Iuridicum II building is situated in the Powiśle area, located between the Wisła (Vistula) river and the main Campus of the University. The Powiśle area is a pleasant 5-10 minute walk from the Campus and the Royal Route (Krakowskie Przedmieście street).

7. Accommodation & lack of fee

The city features accommodation for all budgets and all occasions – from exclusive apartments frequented by royalty to youth hostels. Conference participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs. Information about recommended hotels and other lodging options can be found here.

ECLS members’ participation is free of charge.

The pandemic situation in Poland is relatively good. The University of Warsaw has decided to waive most of the COVID-19 restrictions regarding teaching and academic activities in university buildings (we will be back in classrooms starting from October 2021). You are therefore warmly welcomed to take part in the event personally! As for travelling to Poland see https://www.gov.pl/web/coronavirus/travel.

Of course, knowing many of you are based in countries that continue to restrict travelling, we stick to the hybrid format of the event, combining a “live” in-person meeting with a “virtual” online component (ZOOM platform). 

We assume that, at this stage, most of you can predict if travelling to Warsaw is at all possible. 

For us, it is super important to know the numbers of in-person participants in advance. Therefore, we would be grateful if you can fill in this short registration form and help us with preparations https://forms.gle/pKvX8ndXHA5k9yGu7

8. Contact

All questions and suggestions can be addressed to eclswarsaw@wpia.uw.edu.pl. We also invite you to visit our website: chinalaw.wpia.uw.edu.pl

See you in Warsaw!

The 14th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association(ECLS/www.ecls.eu) will be held in Durham in the United Kingdom from 26 to 28 July 2019. The conference will be hosted and organised by Durham Law School (Durham University) and its newly established Centre for Chinese Law and Policy (CCLP, http://www.dur.ac.uk/law/research/centres/cclp).

The ECLS was founded in 2006 and its members are dedicated to the ECLS’s goal of advancing comparative and interdisciplinary research on Chinese law. The ECLS annual conference is a leading international academic forum for the exchange of information and ideas on Chinese law, as well as a platform for the initiation of research collaboration. Each year, the conference will gather a large number of scholars, professionals and policy makers from around the world to discuss Chinese law and policies. It has turned into a major international event for scholars and practitioners who are engaged in the study of Chinese law, from both comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives. Continue reading “2019 ECLS Annual Conference Call for Papers”

2018 Annual General Conference of the European China Law Studies Association

Final Programme

12 Sept.:

18–19.30: Welcome reception — Open Gallery (Loggiato), First Floor, Rectorate, Via Verdi 8, Torino

Continue reading “2018 ECLS Annual Conference in Turin, 12–14 September”

The 2018 ECLS Annual Conference will be held at the University of Turin in Italy on 12-14 September 2018.
More information will follow soon with a call for papers.

23 August

13.00–14.30: ECLS Young Scholars Workshop — Part I:
Paving the Way for an Academic Career – Ways of Self-Presentation and Promotion as a Young Scholar
Susan Finder (School of Transnational Law, Peking University)
Rogier Creemers (Faculty of Law, Leiden University)

15.00–16.30: ECLS Young Scholars Workshop — Part II:
Methodological Approaches to Assess the Legal Development in China’s One-Party State
Flora Sapio (Centre on China in the World, Australian National University)
Larry Catá Backer (Penn State University)
Benjamin Liebman (Columbia Law School)

17.00: ECLS General Assembly

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24 August

9.00–9.45: Welcome session

9-45–11.00: Keynote
Benjamin Liebman: Disclosure of court information: An Empirical Study from Henan
Discussant: Susan Finder

Continue reading “Leiden 2017: Conference Programme”

Call for Papers

The 12th annual conference of the European China Law Studies Association (ECLS) will take place in Leiden on 24–25 August 2017, with the support of its Faculty of Law and the Leiden Institute for Area Studies. Continue reading “Leiden 2017: Call for Papers”

Date: December 19, 2016 | 9.00 – 15.30
Venue: Tagungsraum, Seminar Building, University of Cologne
Universitätsstraße 37, 50931 Cologne, Germany

9.00–10.00 Discard the Rule of Law! Ideology and Performativity in Chinese Legal Academia
Samuli Seppänen, Chinese University of Hong Kong

10.15–11.15 Pragmatism and the Political: The Dual Role of “Ideology” in the National Judicial Examination
Flora Sapio, Center on China in the World, Australian National University

11.15–12.15 Educating Lawyers in the Party Spirit: A Discussion of “Political Thought” Education in Chinese Law Schools
Eva Pils, King’s College London

13.15–14.15 Political Reliability and the Chinese Bar Exam
Rachel Stern, University of California, Berkeley

14.30–15.30 Politicization of the Chinese Judicial Exam and the Socialist Rule-of-Law Concept
Björn Ahl, University of Cologne

Registration and Contact
Lucas Brang (lb­rang2(at)uni-koeln.de)

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Abstracts and papers are available here:

Samuli Seppänen, Ideological Conflict and the Rule of Law in Contemporary China
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2801442

Rachel Stern, Political Reliability and the Chinese Bar Exam
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2864690

Björn Ahl, The Politicization of the Chinese National Judicial Examination (2007–2012)
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2872473