Civil Justice in China: Recent Developments
Workshop on the reforms of the Chinese judicial system
The Max Planck Institute hosted a workshop on recent trends in the Chinese civil justice system on Monday 20 April 2015, bringing together leading scholars from three continents as well as researchers and guests of the Institute.
The workshop was structured in three parts. In the first session, Prof. Dr. Björn Ahl (University of Cologne) explored the role of the Chinese Supreme People’s Court (SPC) as an “initiator of judicialization”. After that, Ms. Pei Lu (Max Planck Institute Luxembourg) discussed the measures that the SPC takes in order to secure the unity of the judiciary.
The second part was concerned with the application of the law in judicial practice. Taking financial leasing contracts as an example, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Knut Benjamin Pissler (Max Planck Institute Hamburg) examined how the SPC fills the gaps of formal laws by means of issuing judicial interpretations. Mr. Nils Pelzer (Max Planck Institute Luxembourg) analysed how official policies influence the practice of local courts to settle cases by mediation.
The third part mainly dealt with the position of the judiciary within the state. Prof. Dr. Margaret Woo (Northeastern University) analysed the concept of “rule of law with Chinese characteristics” as advocated in the fourth plenum of the 18th Communist Party Congress. Finally, Prof. Dr. Yulin Fu (Peking University) gave an insightful overview on the ongoing judicial reforms, mainly addressing reforms of the court system.
The presentations were followed by fruitful discussions amongst the participants.
To see the program, please click here.
