Centre for Chinese Law and Policy

Centre for Chinese Law and Policy
Name	Centre for Chinese Law and Policy
Formation	2010s
Type	Research centre
Headquarters	University campus
Location	China; United Kingdom; United States; Hong Kong
Leader title	Director
Affiliations	University law schools; think tanks; international institutes

Centre for Chinese Law and Policy

The Centre for Chinese Law and Policy is a multidisciplinary research institute focusing on Chinese legal systems, regulatory practice, and policy studies. It engages scholars from universities, think tanks, and international organizations to analyze developments in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and cross-border issues involving Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The Centre interacts with courts, legislatures, ministries, and nongovernmental actors to inform scholarship on comparative constitutionalism, human rights, commercial law, and technology regulation.

History

The Centre traces origins to collaborations between academics at Harvard Law School, Peking University Law School, Oxford Faculty of Law, Yale Law School, and University of Hong Kong during the late 2000s and early 2010s, and was formally established amid institutional networking that included Chatham House, Brookings Institution, Lowy Institute, Asia Society, and the Royal United Services Institute. Early initiatives connected seminars at Stanford Law School, Columbia Law School, National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, Tsinghua University School of Law, and workshops linked to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Influential conferences involved participants from Oxford China Centre, China Law Society, American Bar Association, International Crisis Group, and regional bodies such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Mission and Objectives

The Centre aims to produce evidence-based analysis for stakeholders including judges, legislators, regulators, and civil society organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, while informing policy debates in institutions such as the European Commission, the US Department of State, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and national ministries. Objectives emphasize comparative work with partners including Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Humboldt University Berlin, Sciences Po, Australian National University, and University of Cambridge. The Centre seeks to bridge scholarly research produced at venues like The China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Asian Survey, and Modern China with practical training used by the International Bar Association, World Trade Organization, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Research Areas

Research spans constitutional studies involving the National People's Congress, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Constitution of the People's Republic of China, and comparative cases from the United States Supreme Court, Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong), and the European Court of Human Rights. Work addresses human rights and rule-of-law topics connected to International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and case law from Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Regulatory and commercial research engages matters involving the China Securities Regulatory Commission, People's Bank of China, WTO Dispute Settlement Body, US Securities and Exchange Commission, and transnational dispute mechanisms like the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Technology and surveillance projects intersect with standards from International Telecommunication Union, innovations by Tencent, Alibaba Group, Baidu, and platform disputes involving Apple Inc. and Google LLC. Comparative criminal justice work cites decisions from the Supreme People's Court, precedents in the European Court of Human Rights, and scholarship associated with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Programs and Activities

The Centre organizes seminars, workshops, and annual conferences hosted in partnership with institutions such as London School of Economics, King's College London, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, National Taiwan University, and Fudan University. Training programs target judges and lawyers in collaboration with International Development Law Organization, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, LawAsia, and bar associations including the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Hong Kong Bar Association. Publication outlets include edited volumes with Cambridge University Press, policy briefs for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and articles in periodicals like Foreign Affairs, The Economist, and Financial Times. Public engagement encompasses testimony at hearings before bodies such as the United States Congress, the European Parliament, and expert panels for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Organization and Governance

Governance typically comprises an academic director drawn from faculties like Columbia University, University of Chicago Law School, or Peking University, advisory boards including former officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (People's Republic of China), diplomats with backgrounds in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and independent trustees from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and leading foundations such as the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations. Administrative ties often run to university law departments such as King's College London School of Law and research centres like the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Funding sources include competitive grants from entities like the European Research Council, philanthropic support from the Rockefeller Foundation, and program contracts with multinational organizations such as the Asian Development Bank.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Centre maintains formal collaborations with academic units including Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, City University of Hong Kong School of Law, Zhejiang University Guanghua School of Management, Wuhan University, and international partners like Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and policy institutes such as RAND Corporation and Center for Strategic and International Studies. Project alliances have involved the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, Transparency International, and media collaborations with outlets like Reuters and South China Morning Post.

Category:Research institutes