Chinese Law & Legal Institutions

Over the last 35 years, China has embarked on an unprecedented effort to build a legal system and a cadre of lawyers, judges, and law professors essentially from scratch. The progress of that effort to build a “socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics” is of tremendous significance not only to China’s 1.4 billion citizens, but also to the rest of the world as China continues its rapid economic and social integration into the international community.Students will increasingly come into contact with issues related to China during the course of their careers, whether they are engaged in business, regulation, policymaking, or advocacy. This course is intended to expose students to central themes in the study of Chinese law, and help students to understand the key differences between the US and Chinese legal regimes.The course will include lecture, guest speakers, and class discussion. The grade for the course will be based on short response papers, and a final scholarly paper.Prior knowledge of the Chinese legal system is not required. This course can satisfy the SAW requirement.