On November 4, 2014, the plaque-unveiling ceremony for the Academy for the Study of Chinese Law & Comparative Judicial Systems and its first Forum on China Law were held by the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University (IU Bloomington), America. The Academy is an overseas cooperative institute sponsored by the Center of Cooperative Innovation for Judicial Civilization(CCIJC) at CUPL.The CCIJC delegation was composed of Prof. Zhang Baosheng, Joint-Director of CCIJC & Vice President of CUPL, Prof. Bian Jianlin, Dean of the Procedural Law Research Institution at CUPL, Prof. Chang Lin, Dean of the Institute of Evidence Law &Forensic Science at CUPL, and Prof. Man Yun long, CUPL adjunct professor and professor of the School ofTransnational Law at Peking University.
Ms. Jacqueline Simmons, Vice President and General Counsel of IU Bloomington, and Prof. Austen L.Parrish, Dean of the Maurer School of Law at that University, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches to mark the special occasion. More than 40 people gathered for the event, including resident professors, visiting scholars, research fellows and students from the Maurer School of Law, the Department of Political Science and the Department of Sociology at IU Bloomington.
According to the signed agreement between CUPL and Maurer School of Law, the Forum on China Law would be held annually as a regular exchange platform for the two sides. The topic of its first session was the Judicial &Evidence Systems in China and their reforms. The aforementioned four CUPL delegates delivered lectures to the American audience.
Vice President and Professor Zhang, delivered a lecture themed “Reforming the Criminal Evidence System in China”
Professor Bian Jianlin, “Reform and Implementation of China’s Criminal Procedure Law, Together With Protection of Human Rights”
Professor Chang Lin, “The Forensic Service System in China”
Professor Thomas Man, “From Official de Facto Fact-Finder to Expert Witness: Transition of Forensic Examination in China”
Due to a scheduling issue, Prof. Qu Jianye, a senior judge of Chang Zhou Intermediate People’s Court, could not attend the Forum in person; instead, he submitted his written report “The Changing Role of its Courts in the Context of China’s Judicial Reform” to the meeting. Professors held an in-depth discussion with the participants on the content of the report. The in-person interaction was lively and active.
Soon afterwards, the inauguration ceremony for the Academy for the Study of Chinese Law & Comparative Judicial Systems took place as scheduled. Prof. Austen Parrish, Dean of the Maurer School of Law at IU Bloomington, first delivered a speech and extended his warm welcome to the Chinese professors and other distinguished guests at the venue. He expressed that the Maurer School of Law attached great importance to its collaboration with China. The establishment of the Academy would further strengthen cooperation in the areas of law studies, academic exchange and student exchange between IU Bloomington(including its Maurer Law School)and CUPL, as well as with other Chinese universities and institutions.
The inauguration ceremony for the Academy for the Study of Chinese Law & Comparative Judicial Systems
Prof. Zhang Baosheng briefed the attendees on“the 2011 Plan”, the objects, missions and planned institutional reforms of CCIJC, its domestic partners and its international academic exchanges. After that, the plaque of the New Academy was handed over from Prof. Zhang Baosheng to Dean Austen Parrish. The Maurer School of Law specially designated certain rooms as the offices where the Academy’s staff could conduct their research, receive Chinese visiting scholars sponsored by the project, and take care of other similar work.Finally, a reception dinner was held in honor of the ribbon-cutting ceremony and its ensuing forum. The hosts and guests all toasted to theirsuccess.
The CUPL delegation also held talks with the Chinese visiting scholars and students who were studying or doing research at Maurer School of Law during the visit. Currently, there are over 20 Chinese visiting scholars and students studying for J.D. or L L.M. degrees at the law school. Some of them are from CUPL.
The Academy for the Study of Chinese Law & Comparative Judicial Systems, located in the Maurer School of Law at IU Bloomington, America, was one of CCIJC’s overseas cooperative institutes. CUPL’s adjunct professor Man Yunlong and Maurer School of Law’s Prof. Joseph Hoffmann were appointed as its Co-Directors.
IU Maurer School of Law publicized the event on its homepage with detailed information concerning the unveiling ceremony and the content of the firstForum on China Law.
The website link is:
http://info.law.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2014/10/china-law-forum-new-maurer-academy.shtml
