Law Commons^™

He Jiahong, Back From The Dead: Wrongful Convictions And Criminal Justice In China, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

1In 1987, Teng Xingshan was sentenced to death for raping a woman and dismembering her body; wrongfully convicted, he was executed in 1989 – but in 1992 the “victim” returned home, and Teng was exonerated in 2005. His case is only one among numerous other tragic wrongful convictions discussed in Back From the Dead: Wrongful Convictions and Criminal Justice in China, by Professor He Jiahong (Renmin University Law School, Beijing). This book, the product of ten years of research, is a scholarly analysis of wrongful convictions that demonstrates deep system-wide flaws in China’s criminal justice system.

Chinese Law Reform: Its Recent Past And Uncertain Future, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Just as economic reforms were beginning in 19789-1979 and China’s leaders announced that China was going to create a “socialist market economy,” a prominent Chjinese economist said.

“Market economy” should be “a bird in the cage” of the socialist economy.

Today, Chinese law reform reflects a mixed picture: The cage has grown since the onset of reform, but the law is still a bird inside of it.

China: The Quest For Procedural Justice, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

This essay is contributed in recognition of Don Wallace’s dedication to furthering procedural justice in the U.S. and abroad. Don’s interests are wider than anyone else’s I can think of. Even though China and Chinese law are not represented in his published scholarship, in the course of our long friendship he has expressed thoughtful interest in many ways, including his constructive participation in the first delegation of the American Bar Association to visit China, which I escorted in 1978, and his later visits to China. Under Don’s leadership as Director of the International Law Institute at the Georgetown Law School, …

Discussion At Second U.S.-China Rule Of Law Dialogue, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Professor Cheng analyzes the foundation and structure of the present configuration of Chinese legal institutions and its desirable future in a very small number of pages--- a brave and suggestive approach. (I am avoiding the term “Chinese legal system” for reasons that will be clear.) She begins by noting NPC Chairman Wu Banguo’s recent statement that China has now created “a socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics” (hereafter SSLCC).

The Uncertain Future Of Legal Reform In China, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

This talk looks at how far Chinese law reform has come since 1979, possible further reforms, and obstacles to meaningful reform.

Legal Uncertainty In Foreign Investment In China: Causes And Management, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

My talk today will be based on an article – “Looking for Law in China” – that was published last year. In it, looked at Chinese law from the perspective of foreign investors that have had to cope with the uncertainty of a business environment in which legal institutions have been vague, incomplete and weak. I wrote, and today speak to you, from under two hats, that of a scholar and that of practicing lawyer, since for over thirty years I have combined those two careers. My observations here, then, are not just those from the academic ivory tower but …

Looking For Law In China, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

I have been looking for law in China for over forty years. When I started in 1963, only a handful of other Westerners had also embarked on what then seemed an exotic academic excursion. Since then, after U.S.-China relations were reestablished in 1972, many other Americans have had reason to join in the search. Now, the growing potency of China's economic strength and international reach has made efforts to understand China more important than ever, and law has become a necessary medium for use in such efforts.

This article offers insights into critical institutions and practices that mark the legal …

Looking For Law In China I: Themes And Issues In Western Studies Of Chinese Law, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

I have been studying Chinese law since the early 1960s – some have said that I began before there was any. The field has expanded so far beyond its narrow scope at that time that this overview will illustrate an old Chinese saying: "riding a horse and looking at flowers." I will first review the growth of this scholarly field, because it is necessary to understand that there are layers of scholarship that reflect first the paucity of formal legal institutions in Maoist China, then the appearance of first shoots of new or rebuilt institutions, and only recently the publication …

Looking For Law In China Iii: How Foreign Investors And Business Have Faced Legal Uncertainty In China, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

This last of the three talks I will have given here at Oxford looks at yet another aspect of what I have called "looking for law in China." Today I will look at Chinese law from the perspective of foreign investors that have had to cope with the uncertainty of a business environment in which legal institutions have been vague, incomplete and weak. I speak to you today from under two hats, that of a scholar and that of practicing lawyer, since for over thirty years I have combined those two careers. My observations here, then, are not just those …

Looking For Law In China Ii: China’S Legal Reforms After Mao: Accomplishments And Future Prospects, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

In this talk I intend to summarize major accomplishments of Chinese law reform since 1978; and speculate on the future of Chinese law reform

• In the course of this talk, I will note where China began when legal reform was first undertaken in 1979, and the enormous size and scope of the task that was undertaken.
• I hope to give an indication both of the progress China has made, and of major obstacles to future reforms;
• I have chosen one area to emphasize because it may light the way for further meaningful reforms: administrative law
• I have also noted influences …

The Study Of Chinese Law In The United States: Reflections On The Past And Concerns About The Future, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

I am pleased to write in honor of Bill Jones by reflecting here on the study of Chinese law, which has occupied us both since the early 1960s and has since grown far beyond its narrow scope at that time. In the pages that follow, I first survey the development and current state of the field by reviewing American scholarship on some major areas of Chinese law from those early days up to the present. I am also pleased to use this review as a vehicle for noting, in particular, some of Bill's contributions to our inquiries. Some related activities …

Bird In A Cage: Chinese Law Reform After Twenty Years, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

I am grateful to the editors of this journal for inviting me to return to its pages to help mark the twentieth anniversary of its inaugural issue. History now tells us that publication of that first issue happened to coincide with the beginning of an extraordinary period in Chinese history that has seen extensive reforms transform the Chinese economy and Chinese society. These reforms, no less dramatic than the revolutionary transformations of the 1950s, have caused law to gain unprecedented importance in Chinese society. The Journal's anniversary provides an opportunity to review some of the major characteristics of Chinese legal …

Dispute Resolution In China After Deng Xiaoping: "Mao And Mediation" Revisited, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

This Article presents portions of a book tentatively entitled "Bird in a Cage: Legal Reform in China After Mao." The book explores the Western vantage point from which I have viewed institutions for dispute resolution, the imprint on them of the traditional and more recent Maoist past, the disorderly context of rapid economic and social change in which they must operate today, and the larger law reforms of which they are part. Against that background it examines the operation of extrajudicial mediation and the courts. The scope of this Article is more limited.

I have not speculated here about appropriate …

Introduction: The Future Of Chinese Law, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

The interaction between the millennial dominant orientations of Chinese culture and the entire impact of modernization and of Marxism-Leninism is a story that is unfolding before our eyes, and we have no neat formula for predicting its outcome.

Studying Contemporary Chinese Law: Limits, Possibilities And Strategy, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

What can the study of Chinese law bring to the study of China itself? This Article first distills what we have learned. It reviews Chinese legal studies since their revival in the 1960s in the United States, where foreign studies of modem Chinese law has been most vigorous since the People's Republic of China ("PRC") was established. The major themes that emerged from research before the reform decade emphasized the politicization of law, the persistence of traditional cultural influences and the impact of bureaucratic practice on current institutions - all themes which remain important today. Since the advent of reform, …

Investment And Export Contracts In The People’S Republic Of China: Perspectives On Evolving Patterns, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

The remarkable economic reforms begun in the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1979 have made possible transactions between Chinese and foreigners that were previously unthinkable. But the reforms have also caused, and are likely to continue to cause, dislocations and uncertainties which often impair Sino-foreign commercial relationships as they are embodied in contracts. This article discusses two different types of contracts, contracts to establish enterprises in China with foreign direct investment (investment contracts) and contracts to purchase Chinese products for export (export contracts). It further comments on why these contracts often cannot be implemented according to their terms for …

Equity Joint Ventures In China: New Legal Framework, Continuing Questions, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Foreigners participating in equity joint ventures in the PRC since such investments were authorized in 1979 have encountered a variety of problems. New legal institutions have been established to provide a framework for joint ventures but their reach and interpretation of the new rules in practice are still often uncertain. Changes in policy have affected, and will continue to affect, the operation of both joint ventures and the new legal rules. Potential investors need contractual protection against changes in laws, regulations and policies which may affect the joint venture. Some specific issues of importance to foreign investors in China include …

Technology Transfer In China: Policies, Practice And Law, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

The legal and practical aspects of technology transfer are of increasing importance as China's international economic relations expand. Chinese legislation on aspects of such transfers are beginning to appear and this paper discusses relevant regulations particularly the Technology Import Contract Regulations of May 1985. Practical issues include Chinese interest in up-to-date technology and comprehensive technical documentation, valuation of the technology to be transferred, payment terms, the terms and costs of technical training, and acceptance tests of the products manufactured using the transferred technology. Patent infringement and protection of proprietary information are also issues of concern to companies involved in technology …

Western Scholarship On Chinese Law: Past Accomplishments And Present Challenges, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Chinese law-making in recent years has been nothing less than remarkable and presents a new challenge for research today. The recent adoption of new codes, the revival of formal legal institutions, including courts and the bar, and the reinvigoration of legal education and research all signal the reappearance of an entire field of study.

Although a foundation for study was laid by some scholars in the 1960's, the field later declined, reflecting the low condition to which the Chinese legal system fell, both before and during the disastrous Cultural Revolution. Once again, however, study of the operation of the Chinese …

Emerging Functions Of Formal Legal Institutions In China's Modernization, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

In 1977 when China's leaders dedicated themselves to the four modernizations, they consciously decided to reestablish formal legal institutions as part of their ambitious plan of growth. In light of China's legal history since the Communist victory in 1949, this decision is significant. Since 1949 law had borne the heavy imprint of politics; since the late nineteen-fifties, the Chinese leadership had shown little concern for the fate of formal legal institutions; during the Cultural Revolution, the legal system had virtually disappeared. But since 1977, despite fluctuations in economic policy the attitudes of the leadership toward law, repeatedly echoed by lower …

New Developments In Law In The People's Republic Of China, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Recently, Chinese leaders have begun to promote the development of legal standards andformal legal institutions for China. In this article, Mr. Lubman explores the background and current status of the role of law in China and assesses its relationsho to China's economic development, domestic politics, and international economic relations. Mr. Lubman suggests that students of Chinese law must create new theoreticalperspectives to study the new developments.

Contracts, Practice And Law In Trade With China: Some Observations, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Erh Ii gou ("two mile gully") is the street in Peking on which stands the "large import building", the headquarters of the Chinese state trade corporations which purchase machinery, equipment, chemicals and technology from abroad. The punning reference to the protracted length of negotiations there is relevant to this piece, because the writer spent seven weeks between mid-January and mid-April, 1978 participating in negotiations in Peking; the long stay provided an opportunity to test generalizations and to write with some immediacy.

This essay describes the process of negotiating sales of capital goods to the Chinese corporations and the contracts which …

On Understanding Chinese Law And Legal Institutions, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

Our unfamiliarity with Chinese legal institutions and policies toward law causes misunderstanding of the role of law in the People's Republic of China. The present unimportance of the formal legal system has deep historical reasons. As China's economy becomes more complex, regularity should increase, although it will remain controversial. In commercial contracts with the West, custom performs the role of law.

Trade Between The United States And The People's Republic Of China: Practice, Policy And Law, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

The author examines trade with the People's Republic of China, stressing Chinese commercial practice. He analyzes in detail aspects of negotiations, contracts and dispute-settlement which may be important to potential U.S. purchasers and sellers. The Article concludes with a survey of current problems of law and policy in Sino-U.S. trade.

Coexistence And Commerce: Guidelines For Transactions Between East And West, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

For all the talk in this country in recent years about improving relations between the United States and Communist nations – "building bridges" and the like-old stereotypes of West and East, Us and Them, linger on. The Cold War mentality dies hard: East-West relations remain symbolized by signs of separation and antagonism such as the Berlin Wall and the lonely bridge at Lowu where travelers cross between Hong Kong and China. Such images, and the stereotyped habits of thought associated with them, are especially dangerous in a time characterized by neither war nor peace, but by a mixture of both. …

Form And Function In The Chinese Criminal Process, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

This article considers some of the formidable intellectual problems involved in studying the Chinese criminal process. Much can be learned about another country by studying its legal institutions; a study of sanctioning institutions promises insight into a society's view of order, deviance, individual rights, and the allocation and application of punishment. But how can foreign institutions most perceptively be studied? Only rather recently has analysis of the American criminal process become notably more sophisticated. Our own inexperience coupled with China's alienness and the lack of accurate information threaten to impede perceptive studies of Chinese institutions. But the problem is pressing …

Mao And Mediation: Politics And Dispute Resolution In Communist China, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

We lack much essential knowledge, not only about Chinese Communist legal institutions, but about Chinese society generally – how it is organized, how power is distributed and wielded, and the nature of even the most ordinary relationships. Such ignorance is dangerous, especially when China and the United States, and their perceptions of each other, remain tragically far apart. An analysis of China's institutions for resolving disputes can teach much about its dominant values and authority relationships.

This Article examines the resolution of disputes between individuals in China, relying on documentary sources and on interviews conducted by the author in Mandarin …

The Unrecognized Government In American Courts: Upright V. Mercury Business Machines, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

What right have I, as the King's Judge, to interfere upon the subject of a contract with a country which he does not recognize?

Lord Eldon's words, written in 1823, have been echoed more than once by American judges, who have been as troubled as Eldon by problems complicated by diplomatic nonrecognition. Twentieth-century wars and revolutions have required American courts to decide whether unrecognized governments, entities created by them, their representatives, or their assignees could sue in domestic courts, often on matters of private right. Frequently, too, the courts have been perplexed by the effect of nonrecognition on the application …