Programme

General Assembly of the European China Law Studies Association

(ECLS members only)

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Registration

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Opening of the Conference

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Pia Letto-Vanamo, Former Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki

Björn Ahl, President of the European China Law Studies Association, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne, Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Keynote Speech

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

The Unmaking of the Chinese Working Class: From Political to Legal Inequality

Teemu Ruskola, University of Pennsylvania

Coffee Break

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Panel 1: China and Global Constitutionalism: A Historical Reconsideration

Chair: Samuli Seppänen, Associate Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. ‘Constitutional Peace’ and ‘Constitutional Imperialism’: Visions of Constitutionalism in International Relations in Late Imperial China, Egas Moniz Bandeira (University of Erlangen)

2. A Constitution for Humankind? Chinese Internationalism and the League of Nations, 1917-1931, Lucas Brang (University of Cologne)

3. Chinese Views on the Formation of the UN Charter, from Chongqing and Yan'an to San Francisco, Ryan Mitchell (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

4. Narrating Histories and Engaging the Public: International Lawyers and the Republican Chinese State and Society, Ken Yang (European University Institute)

Panel 2: Regulation of Free Speech and Data Protection Law

Chair: Yongxi Chen, Lecturer, College of Law, Australian National University

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. Is China’s Speech Regulation Constitutional? Ge Chen (Durham University)

2. Data Protection in China: Data Sovereignty, Regulatory Requirements and Best Practice of Data Protection Compliance, Zihao Liao

3. The Right to Information Accessibility by People with Disabilities: An Attempt of Re-theorization in the Digital Era, Li Jing (China University of Labor Relations)

4. Information Protection Law and Private Reputational Infrastructure: Conflicts, Tradeoffs and Reform, Xinyi Ma (Peking University)

Panel 3: Civil Law and the Constitutionalisation of the Civil Code 

Chair: Lutz-Christian Wolff, Wei Lun Professor of Law and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Venue: F3017, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Force Majeure or Change of Circumstances: An Enduring Dichotomy in Chinese Law? Qiao Liu (City University of Hong Kong)

2. Civil Code’s Constitutional Capacity Examined: Empirical Evidence from the Chinese Court, Zhuo Ding (University of Hong Kong)

3. The Road to Constitutionalisation of the Chinese Civil Code, Jie Ouyang (University of Groningen)

Coffee Break

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Panel 4: Antitrust Law

Chair: Monika Prusinowska, Maria Zambrano Scholar, University of Barcelona

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Hong Kong, China, and the Disruption of Antitrust, Emanuela Lecchi (University of Dundee)

2. The Refusal to License Intellectual Property as an Antitrust Violation in China: How should the Current Approach be Improved? Peicheng Wu (Zhejiang University)

3. Implications of the EU Digital Markets Act on China’s Anti-monopoly Enforcement on Digital Platforms: Is it Time for a Game-Changer? Yujie Tong (Zhejiang University)

Panel 5: New Public Interest Law

Chair: Kimmo Nuotio, Professor of Criminal Law and Director of the Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. Promoting Rights and Discipling Movement: Legal Mobilization for Women’s Rights in China’s New Era, Yizhi Huang (University of Hong Kong)

2. Shifting Ownership of Conflict and Evolving Public Interest Law, Hualing Fu (University of Hong Kong)

3. Judicializing Public Interests: Administrative Performance Under the Shadow of Judicial Review, Tianhao Chen, Yu Sheng, Wei Xu and Xiaohong Yu (Tsinghua University)

Panel 6: Belt and Road Initiative and China as a Norm-maker

Chair: Georg Gesk, Professor of Chinese Law, University of Osnabrück

Venue: F3017, Fabianinkatu 33

1. China’s BRI and GBA Initiatives: Much Legal Talk (and Writing) About Nothing? Lutz-Christian Wolff (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

2. Legal Implications of the Digital Silk Road: A New Era Coming? Magdalena Łągiewska (University of Gdańsk)

3. The PRC’s Compliance with International Norms – Norm-Taker or Norm-Maker? Mark Poustie (University College Cork)

Reception

Host: Dean Johanna Niemi, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Venue: Christina Hall, Unioninkatu 34 (same building as Fabianinkatu 33 but on the opposite side)

Keynote Speech

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Rule by Virtue? The Global Implications of China’s Rejection of the Rule of Law in its 'New Era’

Eva Pils, King’s College London

Panel 7: China’s Foreign Relations Law and its Positions on International Courts

Chair: Larry Catá Backer, W. Richard and Mary Eshelman Faculty Scholar, Professor of Law and International Affairs, Pennsylvania State University

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. China’s Nascent Foreign Relations Law and Her “National Rejuvenation”, Yi Sun (University of Munich)

2. Revisit Chinese Exceptionalism through the Lens of New Foreign Relations Law, Zixuan Yang (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law)

3. China and Courts of International Criminal Law –Discourses on Arrest(s) (Warrants) and Judgments for State, Government and Military Leaders, Thomas S. Eder (Austrian Institute for International Affairs)

Panel 8: China and International Trade, Carbon Emissions and Collective Security

Chair: Magdalena Łągiewska, Assistant Professor, University of Gdańsk

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. Should China Accept EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism? Kang Li (University of International Business and Economics)

2. The Role of Sanctions in China’s Model of Collective Security, Mauro Barelli (City University of London)

3. The Impact of the Ukraine War on China’s Positions on the Law of Peace, Security and Armed Conflict, Wim Muller (Maastricht University)

Panel 9: Constitutional Law

Chair: Jukka Viljanen, Professor of Public Law, Tampere University

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

1. A Chinese Version of Human Rights Theory: Construction, Observation and Criticism, Guobin Zhu (City University of Hong Kong)

2. China’s Constitution and Constitutional Legislations: A Critique, Mingtao Huang (Wuhan University)

3. Creating Legitimacy and Exercising Political Power: An Analysis of the Functions of the Chinese Constitutional Preamble Based on a Linguistic Study, Kathrin Tremml (University of Munich)

Coffee Break

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Panel 10: Cybersecurity and Algorithms in the Law of the PRC

Chair: Shu Li, Assistant Professor, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Popularizing Cybersecurity Law in China: Central Government’s Vision vs. Local Government’s Action, Paulina Uznańska (University of Warsaw)

2. Self-regulation of the Generative AI Models in China from the Comparative Perspective, Igor Szpotakowski (Newcastle University)

3. Algorithm Management of Work in Platform Work in the PRC, Piotr Grzebyk (University of Warsaw)

Panel 11:  Anti-corruption Campaign and Supervision Commissions

Chair: Meng Ye, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Tübingen

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. Anti-corruption in Xi’s China: A Legitimacy Perspective, Aisi Zhang (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

2. Emotional Reasoning: The Unintended Consequence of China’s Supervision Reform, Xiaohong Yu, Zhaoyang Sun and Hui Yang (Tsinghua University)

3. Administration and Criminal Law: The Conduct of Supervision and Investigation of the Supervision Commission, Tina (Jiayi) Yao (University of Melbourne)                                                                                                                     

4. Coordination and Interaction between Intra-Party Regulations and National Laws in the Context of Supervision System Reform: A Perspective on Intra-Party Supervision, Sijie Ma (Northwestern University of Political Science and Law and University of Helsinki)

Panel 12: Company Law and Corporate Social Responsibility

Chair: Knut Benjamin Pissler, Professor of Chinese Law at the University of Göttingen and Research Fellow at Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Employee Directors in China’s Company Law, Guotong Shen (Maastricht University)

2. Corporate Social Responsibility and Decent Work in China: The Influence of EU and International Norms, Glory Nwaugbala (University of Exeter and University of Oxford)

3. Interorganizational Behavior and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Actions of Chinese Multinational Enterprises (CMNEs) toward the Sustainable Growth and Local Environmental Issues in Asian Cities, Armando Aliu (Jagiellonian University)

Lunch

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Panel 13: China and Public International Law

Chair: Ryan Mitchell, Associate Professor, the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. The Chinese Balloon Incident: Deflating Partisan Hubris in International Law, Samuli Seppänen (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

2. China in Latin America: Engaging with Local Norms – Opportunities and Challenges, Consequences and Options, Monika Prusinowska (University of Barcelona)

3. David against Goliath. The Legal and Political Implications of Lithuania’s Decision to Upgrade Taiwan’s Representation Office in 2021, Katja Levy (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim)

4. China, Interference and International Law, Ewan Smith (University College London)

Panel 14: Administrative and Civil Litigation

Chair: Dr. Yu Mou, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice, School of Law, University of London

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. The Appeal of the Proportionality Principle for China, Hannah Klöber (University of Cologne)

2. Lazy Officials and Administrative Justice, Sarah Biddulph (University of Melbourne)

3. Non-Citizens in Chinese Litigation, Ye Meng (University of Tübingen and Columbia University)

Panel 15: Reproductive Rights and Bioethics

Chair: Dean Johanna Niemi, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

1. “Neither God nor Law”…But What about Ethics? The Regulation of Gene Editing in the People’s Republic of China, between Fear and Hope, Simona Novaretti (University of Turin)

2. The Right to not Reproduce: Contesting Abortion in China’s Courts, Molly Bodurtha (Columbia University)

3. Women’s Reproductive Freedom in China: A Marxist Legal Legacy and the Shadow of Statism, Yijia Liu (Queen Mary University of London)

Coffee Break

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Parallel Sessions

Panel 16: PhD Roundtable 1

Chair: Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law, University of Helsinki

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Belt and Road Initiative: Analysis and Implications, Paloma Andrade (Universidade de São Paulo)

2. Whistleblowing and Environmental Sustainability: A Comparative Study between the Europe and China, Maria Di Maggio (University of Bari)

3. Circular Economy of the Water in China, Li Yuan (University of Helsinki)

4. The Arbitrability of Public-Private Partnerships Contract Disputes between China and EU, Xianqi Peng (Ghent University)

Panel 17: PhD Roundtable 2

Chair: Benjamin Liebman, Robert L. Lieff Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, Columbia University

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. Corruption of State Officials Evolves into Torture in China Domestic Judicial Lawmaking - A Socio-legal Analysis, Mingming Hai (University of Macau)

2. Corporate Compliance System in Chinese Prosecution, Yulun Wu (University of Cologne)

3. High Seas triggering Arctic Security? An Analysis of Chinese Domestic Discourse on the Central Arctic Ocean, Marco Volpe (University of Lapland)

4. Xing Yao Zhi Zhang and the Formation of Chinese Diplomatic Law System, Wang Leiyin (University of Vienna)

5. Comparative Analysis of the Systematic Implementation of Social Corporations in the Chinese Civil Code – A Legal Comparison with the Systematic Implementation of Registered Associations (Eingetragene Vereine) in the German Civil Code, Maria Kieslich (University of Hamburg)

Panel 18: PhD Roundtable 3

Chair: Ewan Smith, Associate Professor of Public Law at UCL Faculty of Laws

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Quasi-Consent and Coercive Pressure to Marry: Analysing the Cui Hun Phenomenon in China, Yuanxi Qin (Durham University)

2. The Social Worker in China’s Juvenile Criminal Justice System: Opportunities and Challenges, Chengchen He (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

3. From Tax Farming to Fiscal Miracles: The CCP's Legal Strategies for Tax Collection in China, 1931-1952, Ming-hsi Chu (Northwestern University)

4. Marriage as a Tool for Greater Independence? The Impact of Chinese-Foreign Marriages on Chinese Women, Glory Nwaugbala (University of Oxford)

Discussion Roundtable 1: Teaching Chinese Law in Europe

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

Chair: Monika Prusinowska, Maria Zambrano Scholar, University of Barcelona

Discussants: Georg Gesk (University of Osnabrück), Wim Muller (Maastricht University), Yu Mou (University of London), Ge Chen (Durham University), Eva Pils (King's College London), Simona Novaretti (University of Turin)

Discussion Roundtable 2: European Academic Co-operation with China

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Chair: Ninon Colneric, Former Judge of the ECJ, China EU School of Law Founding Co-Dean

Discussants: Piotr Grzebyk (University of Warsaw), Ewan Smith (University College London), Daniel Sprick (University of Cologne), Sarah Biddulph (University of Melbourne), Mark Poustie (University College Cork), Katja Levy (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Coffee Break

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Panel 19: Business Environment and Rule of Law: China’s Perspective

Chair: Liu Qiao, Professor and Deputy Director of the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Cross-border Data Transfer Regime and Data Compliance in China, Wen Xiang (University of Copenhagen)

2. China's Response to Artificial Intelligence from AIGC's Risk Management Perspective, Lianqi Cui (Tongji University)

3. State Intervention in Copyright Law: A Comparative Perspective, Yuxiao Zhang (McGill University)

4. Cyber Sovereignty in China: Regulatory Requirements and Best Practice Implementation, Alexander Dittberner (CHINABRAND CONSULTING Munich and Anhui University)

5. The Wealth Effect of Staggered Boards: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experience, Chao Xi (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Panel 20: Data Governance and the Governance of Data in China

Chair: Ge Chen, Assistant Professor in Global Media and Information Law, Durham Law School

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. Trust Standards for a Social Credit Mode of Public Regulation, Marianne von Blomberg (University of Cologne)

2. ESG Trouble from the Center to the Ends of the Silk Roads - A Comparative Problematique, Larry Catá Backer (Pennsylvania State University)

3. Regulation of Public-sector Data-driven Decision-making in China: Compartmentalised Frameworks and Divergent Governance Logics, Yongxi Chen (Australian National University)

Panel 21: Policy Implementation throughout Different Levels of Government and Legal Scholarship

Chair: Guobin Zhu, Professor of Law, City University of Hong Kong School of Law

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

1. How to Formulate an Economic Policy and Get National Funding, Georg Gesk (University of Osnabrück)

2. Sector Specific Economic Policy in Provincial Planning and Preferential Treatment of the Supply Side, Jingyi von Strasser (University of Osnabrück)

3. Local Realization of Lofty Goals – On Ground Level Realization of National and Provincial Policy Goals, Yingying Liu (University of Osnabrück)

4. Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones: Modern Chinese Legal Scholarship between Tradition and Rejuvenation, Sandra Michelle Röseler (Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory)

Lunch

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Parallel Sessions

Panel 22: Environmental Law

Chair: Tiina Paloniitty, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Approaching Hydropower Sustainability and Law in Tibet: A Spiritual-Cultural Dimension, Yong Zhou (University of Oslo)

2. Catch me if you can: Chinese reluctant fight against IUU fishing, Daniel Sprick (University of Cologne)

3. The Impact of the Green Credit Policy on Green Innovations: An Analysis based on the Moderating Role of Local Governments’ Regulation under the “Double Carbon” Goal, Wenyan Zhang (East China University of Political Science and Law)

4. Ecologization of Contracts – Cases Review from Higher and Intermediate People’s Courts, Jakub Zwierzchowski (University of Silesia)

Panel 23: PhD Roundtable 4

Chair: Eva Pils, Professor of Law at King's College London

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. The EU’s Promotion of Labour Rights in China via International Law, David Garciandía Igal (University of Oxford)

2. The Algorithmic Recommendation Management Regulation, Giulio Santoni (Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata)

3. A Holistic Approach to Realizing the Right to Refuse Automated Decision-making in China, Jingzi Cui (University of Cologne)

4. Constitutional Review with Chinese Characteristics? An Examination of China’s Recording and Review System, Bu Chong (University of Hong Kong)

Panel 24: Procuratorial Reform and Criminal Procedure

Chair: Sijie Ma, Lecturer of Northwest University of Political Science and Law and Visiting Researcher at the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Unfulfilled Promise: Prosecutorial Accountability Reform in China, Yu Mou (University of London)

2. Reducing Pretrial Detention: The Effects and Challenges of Implementing Fewer Comprehensions and Cautious Detention Policy in China, Zhiyuan Guo (China University of Political Science and Law)

3. Goal Perceptions amongst Police and Prosecutors: Balancing Due Process and Crime Control, Shuyu Huang (University of Amsterdam)

Coffee Break

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

Panel 25: Criminal Procedure

Chair: Zhiyuan Guo, Professor of Law at China University of Political Science and Law

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Chinese Juvenile Criminal Justice in a Dilemma: Punishment or Resocialization? Ying Wang (Wuhan University)

2. The Remote Criminal Hearings Faced with the COVID Pandemic: How do the Finnish and Chinese Judicial Practices Respond? Nasiya Daminova (Tampere University)

3. Informed Rule for Personal Information Protection in Criminal Procedure Law, Guixian Zhang (Beihang Unibversity)

Panel 26: China’s Outbound Investment, Rare Earths Strategies and Sustainable Development

Chair: Daniel Sprick, Research Associate at the Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne

Venue: Studium 1 (F3020), Fabianinkatu 33

1. Impacts of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation on Non-EU Companies in Public Procurement Competitions in the EU Internal Market: A Case Study of Chinese CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd, Tongle Si (Maastricht University)

2. Greenland: A Hinge for EU and Chinese Rare Earth Strategies? Blanca Marabini San Martín and Valeria Fappani (Madrid Autonomous University; University of Trento)

3. Who will Drive China to a Better Future? Legal Institutionalist Approaches to the New Energy Vehicle Policy of the PRC, Valeria Fappani and Blanca Marabini San Martín (University of Trento; Madrid Autonomous University)

Panel 27: Court Reforms

Chair: Björn Ahl, President of the European China Law Studies Association, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne, Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki 

Venue: Consistorium, Fabianinkatu 33

1. Rolling Back Transparency in China’s Courts, Benjamin Liebman (Columbia University)

2. Digitisation of the Chinese Judiciary Based on the Example of the Faxin Database of the Supreme People's Court, Knut Benjamin Pissler (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law)

3. Empowered Courts? Smart Courts as a Social Governance Instrument, Fan Yang (University of Cologne)

4. Rigid Supervision or Soft Supervision?: The Reform of Congressional Supervision over Judicial System in China, Ying Sun (Sun Yat-sen University)

5. The Origins and Early Practice of Revolutionary Justice in 1920s’ China, Ran Lu (Soochow University)

Closing Remarks

Venue: Small Festive Hall, Fabianinkatu 33