By outdoor-nature-child.com On October 27, the East China University of Political Science and Law officially inaugurated its Common Law Academic Center in Shanghai.
The establishment of the Common Law Academic Center signifies a significant step in enhancing cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong. The center plans to engage seasoned legal practitioners and educators from common law regions, including Hong Kong, to provide a diverse range of training and professional seminars on critical topics such as the fundamental systems of common law, cross-border dispute resolution, trade law practices, intellectual property protection, and cross-border data flow. These initiatives will target legal professionals in mainland China and students in law programs, blending both long-term and short-term training opportunities.
Additionally, the center aims to host high-quality educational training projects for visiting research teams from overseas, including those from Hong Kong. This effort is intended to deepen their understanding and recognition of the development of China’s rule of law among legal practitioners in common law jurisdictions.
Guo Weilu, the Party Secretary of East China University of Political Science and Law, emphasized that the center’s establishment is a crucial move in implementing the Shanghai-Hong Kong cooperation framework. It not only advances the training and academic research of legal talent but also aligns with national and Shanghai’s major development strategies. This initiative is part of a broader reform in higher education aimed at serving high-quality development through innovative mechanisms.
Positioned as a teaching and research platform for cultivating legal talent specialized in foreign-related law, the Common Law Academic Center will also serve as a collaborative hub for Shanghai’s foreign-related legal talent training alliance and legal service exchanges between Shanghai and Hong Kong. The center intends to organize interactions among experts and researchers from common law regions, facilitate the creation of a database for teaching practice experts, and develop instructional materials and case databases related to common law.
Han Qiang, the Deputy Party Secretary and Dean of the Institute of Foreign-related Law, as well as Co-Director of the Common Law Academic Center, warmly invited legal professionals and educators from mainland China and Hong Kong to utilize the center as a platform for exchanging ideas and collaborating. He expressed hope that all involved would work together to maximize the role of the Shanghai-Hong Kong cooperation mechanism in enhancing foreign-related legal talent training.
On the same day, a seminar focusing on training foreign-related legal talents took place, gathering nearly a hundred representatives from legal organizations such as the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University, along with attendees from mainland universities and legal service institutions. Scholars and experts from both regions engaged in lively discussions on the theme of “Common Law Education in the Context of Foreign-related Legal Talent.”