INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ＂MODERNITY AND CHINESE LEGAL CULTURE＂ HELD AT RENMIN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA LAW SCHOOL

The legal reform of the late Qing Dynasty that took place more than one hundred years ago has usually been considered as the starting point of the transformation and modernization of Chinese legal culture. Following that, both the Republic of China＇s legal system, and the Chinese legal system drawing on Western experience since the opening-up, have been （to a large extent） developed by the purpose of pursuing modemity. Hence, the relationship between modernity and Chinese legal culture is the crucial point in understanding the development of Chinese legal system in modem times, and also a point in comprehending the ongoing legal system construction in a global perspective.     

TOWARDS THE RULE OF LAW OR THE RULE OF THE BOOTS？ A LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Since the beginning of the ＂war＂ on terror, governments have implemented counter-terrorism laws and policies, in breach of their obligations under international human rights law, on account of the necessity to protect democracy against its enemies. Reliance on the human rights discourse in order to justify the violations committed renders it difficult to criticise these drawbacks without rethinking the concepts of rights and democracy and reformulating them. The present article attempts to answer this challenge along the lines of the reconstruction of the notions of liberal democracy as the rule of law and liberty, and human rights as spheres of individual sovereignty.     

GLOBALIZATION OF LAW： A CHINESE PERSPECTIVE ENCOUNTER： HOW DUNCAN KENNEDYAND CHINESE LEGAL SCHOLARS VIEW LEGAL TRANSPLANTS AND THE RULE OF LAW -- A COMMENTARY ON THE HARVARD-RENMIN VIRTUAL WORKSHOP ON DUNCAN KENNEDY＇S THREE GLOBALIZATIONS OF LAW AND LEGAL THOUGHT

Concerned about China＇s future, a panel of Chinese legal scholars invited Professor Duncan Kennedy to discuss legal transplants and the rule of law. This commentary contextualizes their ideas and concerns and aims to clarify some concepts and arguments that underlay their discussion. At times though using the same words the participants were talking about different things. By legal transplants, the Chinese scholars were initially speaking of specle laws, while Duncan Kennedy was referring to legal thought. By law being political, Duncan Kennedy largely meant the distributive and discretionary nature of adjudication, while the Chinese participants were criticizing the interference by the Party and the government with judicial practice. Yet through this encounter, much was exchanged and debated. Regarding the triggers of legal transplants, the Chinese participants emphasized the law＇s quality and the donor＇s power, while Duncan Kennedy was more interested in chance and the recipient＇s strategy. Among the multiple ways of defining the rule of law, both sides agreed that it should be an institutional framework within which an independent judiciary checks the executive power. Nonetheless, each side had their own hopes and reservations on how this institutional framework can enable judges to faithfully apply the law.     

REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN： INTERNATIONAL LEGAL REGIME PROTECTING THE STATELESS PERSONS STOCKTAKING AND NEW TENDENCIES

Statelessness and protection of stateless persons under public international law has not traditionally been in the forefront of academic legal research. This paper aims at drawing a picture on the legal status of stateless persons under public international law, shedding light onto the rather sporadic but noteworthy legal developments after the adoption of the core global instrument in this field, the 1954 New York Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.     

LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ON INDIRECT SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE： FROMA PERSPECTIVE OF IMPROVING THE LAW OF CHINA ON NON-SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE

Equal rights to work between men and women are recognized as fundamental human rights by many international conventions including the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Also, constitutions of many countries recognize equal rights to work as basic constitutional rights. But women all over the world still face numerous kinds of sex discrimination, including direct sex discrimination and indirect sex discrimination, especially in working life. Indirect sex discrimination against women in working life undermines women＇s equal rights to work in a covert way, which is just as harmful as direct sex discrimination and should be prohibited by law.     

SIMULARIZING VIJNANA AND DESIRE,REPEATING YI AND JUSTICE： TRANSPLANTING DELEUZEAN BECOMING INTO THE MACHINE OF HONG KONG ANTI-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW

The law controlling domestic violence in Hong Kong was amended in 2008 and 2009 The revised law introduces a new injunction order which can mandate that abusers attend counseling programmes, and extends legal protection to same-sex couples. As the author have argued elsewhere, the changes in the law can create （gender/sexual） justice as both issues engage with traditional Han-Chinese culture. Nonetheless, with the implementation of the new machine, the following two questions still need to be addressed. Can the changes produce justice？ What is justice？ This paper investigates, in Deleuzean terms, how the machine of anti-domestic violence law in Hong Kong creates the becoming of justice. Hopefully, the examination of this issue can also shed light on the future development in mainland China of the law controlling domestic violence.     

THE LEGACY OF HARVARD PROFESSOR RONALD DWORKIN FOR THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT： WHY AND HOW HE CHALLENGED PHILOSOPHERS OF LAW,SUPREME COURT JUSTICES,AND POLITICIANS TO TAKE RIGHTS SERIOUSLY

The weaker members of a political community are entitled to the same concern and respect of their government as the more powerful members have secured for themselves.     

FOCUS： PUNITIVE DAMAGES IN CHINA PUNITIVE DAMAGES,CHINESE TORT LAW,AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

In a country such as China, with abundant consumer products and the inevitability of product defects, claims for punitive damages are sure to arise under Article 47 of the new Chinese Tort Law. Article 47 provides that ＂（w）hereany producer or seller knowingly produces or sells defective products, causing death or serious damage to the health of others, the injured party may request appropriate punitive damages.＂ As Chinese jurists and scholars interpret Article 47, they may wish to consider whether lessons can be drawn from the American experience. During the past two decades, few areas of American law have changed more radically than the law on punitive damages. While there were once few restraints on the ability of a judge or jury to impose punitive damages in a case involving egregious conduct, today there are a host of limitations embodied in American state and federal law. In many American states, statutes or judicial decisions restrict the ability of a court to award punitive damages by narrowly defining the types of conduct that will justify a punitive award, raising the standard of proof capping the amount of punitive damages, requiring a portion of a punitive award to be forfeited to the state, or limiting vicarious liability for punitive damages. In addition, under federal constitutional law, the principle of due process limits the imposition of punitive damages by scrutinizing the ratio between compensatory and punitive damages and prohibiting an award to be based on harm to persons other than the plaintiff. An examination of these developments from a comparative law perspective may prove useful to the implementation of Article 47.     

PARTY AUTONOMY IN THE APPLICABLE LAW TO RIGHTS IN REM TO MOVABLES UNDER THE CHINESE ACT ON THE LAW APPLICABLE TO CIVIL RELATIONS WITH A FOREIGN ELEMENT： A COMPARATIVE REVIEW

It is widely recognized that a right in rein to movables is to be governed by the law where the movable is located, while party autonomy is confined to the choice of law in contractual matters. Recently there have been calls to extend party autonomy to right in the choice of law in rights in rein to movables. The 2010 Act of the People＇s Republic of China on the Law Applicable to Civil Relations with a Foreign Element （the Act） is a legislative move. The question, however, remains whether it is reasonable for mandatory property law to be left to the choice of parties, in particular in an age when transborder movement of movables is frequent. This paper analyzes the issues of party autonomy and applicable law to rights in rein to movables.