Chinese Law Prof Blog

Luo Gan calls for vigilance against enemy forces using courts to Westernize China

The Party's top official in charge of legal matters and Politburo Standing Committee member Luo Gan (罗干) has issued a call for legal departments to be on guard against enemy forces seeking to use the legal system to Westernize and divide the country. The speech was published in the Party journal Qiu Shi (Seeking Truth); it's called "The Political Responsibility of Political-Legal Organs in Constructing a Harmonious Society" (政法机关在构建和谐社会中的政治责任). Here's the speech as published; here's the New York Times article by Joe Kahn.

Volunteers wanted at China Regional Jessup Moot Court Competition, Shenzhen, Feb. 6-9

Thanks to Carol Kalinoski for this notice:

The Fifth China Regional Jessup Moot Court Competition will be held next week at Shenzhen University, School of Law, on February 6-9, 2007.

The Jessup 2007 problem focuses on the increasing role of intergovernmental organizatons (IGOs), such as the European Union, in international political and economic affairs.  Despite the growth of IGOs, the traditional state-centered role of international law relegates these entities to a subsidiary role.  For example, only "states" are permitted to appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ),.  Even though such IGOs may have rights under a treaty, they have no recourse to the ICJ.

In this year's Jessup moot court problem, a state seeks to join an IGO created by five other member states.  The controversies arise when the applicant state is thought by the IGO to have "failed" to comply with an condition of the written accession agreement.  Questions to be answered before the ICJ are whether the IGO violated international law by denying the applicant state membership in the IGO?  Also to be considered are questions of treaty law, privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions, diplomatic protection, and the law of expropriation.

There are expected to be 26 Chinese law schools participating in this year's moot, with the two winning teams advancing to the International Rounds scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., at the end of March.

The 2007 Jessup compromis and other information concerning the Moot can be found at www.ilsa.org/Jessup.

Anyone interested in participating in the moot next week in Shenzhen or support the Moot in any way is encouraged to contact the Jessup administrator for China, Prof. Wenqi Zhu at Renmin University, who can be reached at wenqizhu@hotmail.com.

IPR specialists wanted at US embassy (Beijing) and consulates (Guangzhou and Shanghai)

Mark Cohen of the US embassy in Beijing sends the following notice. Note that those not resident in China may not apply, but non-US citizens may apply.

The U.S. Embassy in China is seeking IPR specialists for the Embassy in Beijing, as well as the consulates in Guangzhou and Shanghai.   Email contact:  USEmbassyBJHR@state.gov. The basic qualifications are:

Education:  Bachelor’s degree in a field related to civil law and/or intellectual property and/or technology transfer and/or criminal justice. 

Experience: At least five years of progressively responsible experience in legal research and analysis or working in a law firm, consulting firm, university, or corporation, non-governmental or governmental organization on intellectual property or commercial rule of law matters.

Knowledge: With solid understanding of Chinese legal and intellectual property system, including roles of related enforcement agencies and specific knowledge of WTO rules and procedures required, also, should be familiar with general economic and trade concepts and with U.S. government economic policy institutions.

A good working knowledge (“level 4”) of English and Chinese is required.

The positions involve reporting to me and a team of U.S IPR lawyers and working to support overall U.S. embassy efforts on IPR, including coordinating with various sections of the Embassy such as the Commercial Section, Economics Section, Political (e.g., rule of law), Customs, Foreign Agricultural Service, etc.  In addition the lawyers serve as part of an evolving international team of IPR experts supported by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in such countries as Thailand, India, Russia, Egypt, Switzerland (Geneva), and Brazil.

The positions offer a great opportunity to be on the ground floor and the cutting edge of many important bilateral and international issues. There are also many opportunities for professional training and development, including training in China and the U.S.  During the past year alone, we have conducted a range of training programs in China on such topics as: protection of traditional knowledge, folklore and genetic resources under the world IP system;  international trends in pharmaceutical counterfeiting;  how to file a criminal copyright case in China; protection of the geographical indications of agricultural products in China and the U.S.; an annual “Ambassador’s Roundtable” on intellectual property attended by Secretary Guttierez and Minister Bo Xilai; use of intellectual property in development of technical standards; protection of copyright over the Internet; and media relations and IPR litigation.  We have also supported on-going bilateral dialogues with China’s IPR-related agencies, provided training programs to industry, participated in Chinese seminars and programs, and delivered a full range of other IPR-related activities.

Candidates with a background in civil, criminal or administrative process, patent law, copyright, technology transfer, or managing IPR issues for in industrial sector, are especially welcome to apply.

Click on the city names for the notices for the Beijing and Shanghai positions.

Internships at the CECC

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is seeking interns for this summer to work on Chinese human rights and rule of law issues; the application deadline is March 1st. This is a paid position and is limited to US citizens. Undergraduates and grad students, especially those with strong research and language skills, are encouraged to apply.

For more details, click here.

For those unfamiliar with the CECC, I might add that its excellent staff produces high-quality work that is respected within the Chinese law community (at least on this side of the Pacific; its site is blocked in China).

Tsinghua professor calls for legalization of prostitution

I thought that headline would get your attention. In this case it's a Tsinghua professor who can speak a little more freely than perhaps others can; he's my countryman Daniel Bell, now in Tsinghua's philosophy department. One very interesting thing his article reveals is that in 1992, a delegation of PRC officials went on a tour of state-sanctioned brothels in Singapore. This might not strike anyone as unusual, but I mean they went officially.

I have a previous post on this subject here.

[Jan. 30th addendum]

Incidentally, here's a proposal circulated within China last summer to have the NPC Standing Committee review China's laws against pornography and prostitution for unconstitutionality. Maybe not the most convincing legal argument, but this is really just a policy proposal in disguise. Thanks to Keith Hand for the reference.