Chinese Law (deLisle)
Meeting Times/Location
MW 3:00PM - 4:20PM
Tanenbaum Hall 345
Category
First-Year
Credits
3.0
Chinese law has undergone profound transformations during the Reform Era that began in 1978. In some respects, the last decade has brought a distinct and significant new round of changes. This course begins with background sessions that look at a few cases from across a long stretch of Chinese legal history, analytical frameworks for understanding why Chinese law is the way it is (a bit of comparative law “theory”), and a brief overview of the political and institutional contexts of contemporary Chinese law. The bulk of the course focuses on selected topics in contemporary Chinese law. These broadly track Chinese versions of areas of law that are at the core of US and other Western legal systems—and contemporary China’s as well—and that are mostly covered in the first-year law school curriculum: criminal law, contracts, torts, property, courts and adjudication (akin to civil procedure), and constitutional law and legal mechanisms of government accountability (including principally administrative law). We will spend approximately two weeks on each of these areas (some less, some a bit more).
International and Comparative Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of international and comparative law, both substantively and procedurally; Perform legal analysis in the context of international and comparative law; Communicate effectively on topics related to international and comparative law; Demonstrate an understanding of the role of international and comparative law, and their interconnection with domestic law.