Conference Program: 11th Annual General Conference of the European China Law Studies Association (欧洲中国法研究协会 )

The 11th Annual General Conference of the European China Law Studies Association (欧洲中国法研究协会 ) will be held at the Faculty of Law of the Roma TRE University in Rome from 22 to 24 September 2016.

Since its founding in 2006, the European China Law Studies Association has become a major international venue for scholars and practitioners who are engaged in the study of Chinese law, from both comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives. The annual general conference provides an excellent forum for the exchange of information and ideas, as well as a platform for the development of research collaboration. Studies from disciplines other than law or interdisciplinary papers as well as submissions from young academics are expressly encouraged.

The 11th Annual ECLS Conference intends to focus on the following areas of Chinese law:

Codification of civil law and Roman law tradition in China
The Supreme People’s Court and judicial reform
Implementation and enforcement of legal reforms
Rule of law under Xi Jinping
International, national (central and local) law-making
Legal framework of the activities of NGOs
Legal consciousness and environmental challenges
Law and capital markets
Criminal Justice and human rights
China’s outbound FDI activism
Legal aspects of the developing relations between EU and PRC
Legal language and legal translation
Current issues in law and philosophy

The Conference Program follows:

ECLS 2016 University of Roma Tre
- Law Department -

Wednesday, 21 September 2016 

17:00 – 19:00 ELCS General Assembly Meeting
Sala del Consiglio – via Ostiense 159

20:00 – 21:30 Dinner offered by Picozzi & Morigi Law Firm
Ristorante Biondo Tevere – Via Ostiense 178

Thursday, 22 September 2016

08:45 – 09:30 Registration
Aula Magna – via Ostiense 159


09:30 – 10:00 Welcome addresses

Aula Magna – via Ostiense 159
Prof. Mario Panizza, Rector, University of Roma Tre
Prof. Giovanni Serges, Director of Roma Tre Law Department Prof. Bjorn Ahl, Chairman of ECLS


10:00 – 11:00 Opening session

Aula Magna – via Ostiense 159
Key-note speech: Prof. Giammaria Ajani , Rector of the University of Turin

11:00 – 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 – 13:00 Parallel sessions
AULA 5 -- Constructing the Judicial Role in China: Legal System Reform and Judicial Independence Moderator: Keren Wang

 The Central Leading Group on Judicial Reform: History, Processes and Practices Flora Sapio, Centre on China in the World of Australian National University


 Judicial Working Style in the Face of Reform: On the Distinction Between Application and Interpretation of Law and the Judicial Function with Chinese Socialist Characteristics Larry Catà Backer, Pennsylvania State University

Discussant: Jean Chris Mittelstaedt, University of Oxford

AULA 6 -- Law and Capital Markets
Chair: Claudio Dordi

 Public Enforcement of Securities Laws: An Empirical Approach Xi Chao, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

 Target Board’s Possible Response to a Hostile Takeover Attempt in China: A Case Study of Vanke vs Baoneng.Ewa Kruszewska, University of Nottingham

 Investor Protection and Systemic Risk in the Hedge Fund Industry: A Legal Comparison of Regulatory Frameworks in China and Europe Cristopher Hsu, Goethe University Frankfurt – House of Finance

 Ten Years of Statutory Derivative Action in Hong Kong: Has It Increased Shareholder Protection? Felix Mezzanotte, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

AULA 7 -- The Supreme People’s Court and Judicial Reforms (1/2)
Chair: Bjorn Ahl

 Judicial Performance Control of Chinese Courts: A Sociological Explanation of the Implementation Challenges Li Yedan, Bielefeld University – Faculty of Sociology

 On the Implementing System of Preventing Interference in Judicial Case from Leading Cadres Huang Yaying, Shenzhen University – Faculty of Law


 The Unbearable Lightness of China’s Judicial Reforms: the Ongoing Process of Retrieving Control over Local Governance George Ge Chen, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS)

13:00 – 14:00 Light Lunch

14:00 – 15:30 Parallel sessions

AULA 5 -- Codification of civil law and Roman law tradition in China
Chair: Laura Formichella

 Ex Oriente Lux, Ex Occidente Lex? European Perspectives on Tort Law of China Albert Ruda Gonzales, University of Girona – Faculty of Law

 Elements of Roman Law Tradition in the Draft of the Chinese Civil Code. Enrico Toti, University of Roma Tre

 On the Termination at Any Time of Contract of Mandate in Chinese Contract Law Jiang Jiayi, University of Rome Tor Vergata – Faculty of Law

 The Codification of Civil Law and the Interpretations of Supreme People's Court: a Perspective from Roman Law Yin Qiushi, University of Rome La Sapienza – Faculty of Law

 Return to Tradition or Legal Acculturation? Doubts and Prospects upon the Characteristic of Loan of Consumption of Natural Persons in Chinese law Wang Jing, University of Rome Tor Vergata – Faculty of Law

AULA 6 -- Criminal Justice and Human Rights (1/2)
Chair: Flora Sapio

 ‘Big-stick 306’ – Prosecution and Sanctioning of Criminal Defense Lawyers in China under Article 306 of the Criminal Law Alexandra Kaiser, University of Cologne

 Reassessing the Requisite State of Mind for the Offence of Money Laundering in Hong Kong Claire Wilson, Hong Kong Shue Yan University

 The Development of Death Penalty in China Liling Yue, China University of Political Science and Law

AULA 7 -- The Supreme People’s Court and Judicial Reforms (2/2)
Chair: Stéphanie Balme

 The Supreme People’s Court in China’s Judicial Reform Guo Xinyang, Associate Professor of the National Prosecutors College of P.R.C

 The Role of the Supreme People's Court in Law-Making by Means of Judicial Interpretations in the People's Republic of China Benjamin Pissler, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

 People’s Jurors in China: Sorry Apologies or Acting Judges? Yu Xiaohong, Tsinghua University - Department of Political Science

15:30 – 15:45 Coffee break




15:45 –17:15 Parallel sessions
AULA 5-- Legal Consciousness and Environmental Challenges

Chair: Giampaolo Rossi

 Air Pollution Control: China in Search of Effective Regulation Zhao Yuhong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

 Sustainable Urbanization with Chinese Characteristics: Environmental Public Interest Litigation and the Construction of an “Ecological Civilization” in the PRC Simona Novaretti, University of Turin, Department of Law

AULA 6 -- Criminal Justice and human rights (2/2)
Chair: Flora Sapio

 Expediting criminal justice: risks and prospects Sarah Biddulph, The University of Melbourne – Asian Law Centre

 Torture in China: What Prospects for Progress? Nicola Macbean, The Rights Practice

 Reduction and Controlling Approach of Crimes Punishable by Death Penalty in China in the Perspective of the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law Zheng Zexing, Hunan University – School of Law

AULA 7 -- China and EU Investment Relationships: a New Paradigm in the Making
Chair: Julien Chaisse

 Negotiating a Comprehensive Investment Treaty Regime for China and the EU: A Roadmap of Issues and Drivers Julien Chaisse, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

 The EU Competence on Foreign Investment: What does it Change for China? Claudio Dordi, Bocconi University

 China’s Approach towards Investment Treaties Revisited Fernando Dias Simoes, University of Macau

 Dispute Settlement: Innovation of Status Quo? Federico Ortino, King’s College London

17:15 – 18:00 Transfer to UNIDROIT

18:00 – UNIDROIT, Villa Aldobrandini – via Panisperna 28

Welcome Speech of the Deputy Secretary-General of the Institute for the Unification of Private Law

Anna Veneziano: “Building Bridges between Legal Traditions: the work of UNIDROIT in the field of legal harmonization”

19:00 -- Vin d’honneur offered by UNIDROIT

Friday, 23 September 2016

09:00 – 10:45 Parallel sessions

AULA 5 -- Hesitant legal Reforms
Chair: Simona Novaretti

 Exit Restrictions of Foreigners Involved in Civil Cases Jasper Habicht, University of Cologne

 Hesitant Enterprise Bankruptcy Law reform: a missed opportunity to resolve zombie companies? Natalie Mrockova, University of Oxford

 Two Contradictions in China’s Anti-domestic Violence Efforts Jue Jiang, Centre for Rights and Justice, Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

 How Effective is Legal Aid Service in China: An Empirical Observation Lin Jing, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law

AULA 6 -- Legal Language and Legal Translation
Chair: Renzo Cavalieri

 The Translation of Legal Performatives in Chinese Trademark Law Roger Greatrex, Lund University - Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies

 On the inclusive legal interpretation system: a perspective of global governance in China Liu Guanghua, Lanzhou University – School of Law

 The Birth of Contemporary Legal Chinese: Influences from the West Michele Mannoni, University of Perugia - Department of Literatures and Languages

Discussant: Sara D’Attoma, Università Ca’ Foscari of Venice

AULA 7 -- Rule of law under Xi Jinping
Chair: Benjamin Pissler

 Rule of Law Reform and the Rise of Rule by Fear in China Eva Pils, King’s College London - Dickson Poon School of Law

 Chinese Legalism Under Xi: Rule of Law and the Military Ignazio Castellucci, University of Teramo

 The Chinese Urban Street-Level Bureaucracy and the Guarantee of Rule of Law Nina Rotermund, University of Duisburg-Essen

 How Sturdy it's Chinese Control over its Internet? Legal Ambiguity and the Limits of Censorship Bryan Druzin, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break



11:15 –13:00 Parallel sessions
AULA 5-- Judicial Reform and the Structures of Socialist Rule of Law. Persistently Emancipating the Mind.
Chair: Larry Catà Backer

 Ideology, Theory and Anecdote Beth Farmer, Pennsylvania State University

 Fractured Legal Theology: Tension between Socialist Doxa and Confucian Pistis in Chinese Judicial Reform Discourse Keren Wang, Pennsylvania State University

 Judicial Reform and Legislative Reform: Conflicts and Mutual Promotion Zhu Shaoming, Pennsylvania State University

Discussant: Eva Pils, King’s College London - Dickson Poon School of Law

AULA 6 -- International, National (Central and Local) Law-Making (1/2)
Chair: Paolo Benvenuti

 Overcoming Obstacles in International Commercial Arbitration Filippo Sticconi, Picozzi & Morigi Law Firm

 Implementing the ICESCR: Social Security Law-making in China Zheng Zhu, University of Hull

 Vertical Fiscal Power Re-Distribution in China’s Budgetary Reform and the Transition of its Central- Local Constitutional Relation Liangjian Wu, Sciences Po Paris Law School

 Towards a more Responsive Legislature: an Empirical Study of Media, Public Focusing Events and Legislation in China Zhang Xin, University of International Business and Economics (UIBE)

AULA 7 -- China’s Outbound FDI Activism
Chair: Xi Chao

 Chinese State-Controlled Entities and the One Belt One Road Initiative: How Many Ways to Protect Sovereign Investments? An Empirical Analysis of the International Investment Regime Dini Sejko, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

 Going out' and 'Racing to the Bottom'? Regulating the conduct of Chinese enterprises abroad Mimi Zou, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

 A Potential Deal Breaker: Taiwanese Foreign Investments Law and its Consequences for Chinese FDI Outbound Activities Rebecka Ringnalda, Baker & McKenzie

Discussant: Renzo Cavalieri - Università Ca’ Foscari of Venice

13:00 – 14:00 Light Lunch

14:00 – 16:00 Parallel sessions


AULA 5 -- Current Issues in Law and Philosophy
Chair: Luigi Moccia

 Re-Uniting what Belongs Together: a Holistic Understanding of Chinese law Jean Chris. Mittelstadt, University of Oxford

 Vicissitude of Chinese Legal Instrumentalism: From Political-Oriented to Empirical-Oriented Wen Guanbin, Tilburg University - Law School

 The Ethical Crisis Caused by Extinctive Prescription in Chinese Civil Law and the Way to Eliminate It Lian Guangyang, Xiangtan University – Law School

 On the Nature of Rights and Its Relations to Chinese Culture Zhong Chiming, University of Edinburgh - School of Social and Political Science

 Tripartite Freedom of Religion in China: An Illiberal Perspective Wang Shucheng, City University of Hong Kong – School of Law

AULA 6 -- International, National (Central and Local) Law-Making (2/2)
Chair: Raffaele Torino

 Strategies and Programmes of EU-China Legal Cooperation Angela Carpi, University of Bologna

 Trade and Progress: the case of China Paolo Farah, West Virginia University

 From the 'Ultraperiphery' to a Grand Bargain for Autonomy: Comparing Portugal’s Autonomous Regions and China’s Special Administrative Regions Jason Buhi, University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law Sebastian Ko, Oxford Human Rights Hub

AULA 7 -- Human rights
Chair: Juha Karhu

 Criminal Law as a Means to Safeguard Human Rights in the Realm of Consumer Protection Georg Gesk, University of Osnabrück - Faculty of Law

 NGO Law Changes in China: the New Law and How it Came to Be Weinan Wang, Beijing Normal University Holly Snape, Tsinghua University - School of Public Policy and Management

 "China's Labor Supply Chains: Expanding the ""Employment Relationship"" to Embrace Joint Liability" Ron Brown, University of Hawaii

 Internet Governance and Terrorism: a Further Compression of Fundamental Basic Rights in China Elisa Bertolini, Bocconi University - Law School “Angelo Sraffa”

16:00 – 16.15 Coffee break

16:15 – 18:00 Parallel sessions

AULA 5 – Constitution of the PRC
Chair: Jason Buhi

 International Law Riddles in Constitutions: Legal Expertise, Founding Moments, and the Constitutional Silence on International Law Liu Yang, UCLA School of Law

 Two Schools in debate, a Borderline Question and the Reformative Constitution Han Zhai, Tilburg University – Law School

 Judicial Life of an Authoritarian Constitution: The Case of China Daniel Sprick, University of Cologne

AULA 6 -- Intellectual property rights
Chair: Marina Timoteo

 Abuse of a Dominant Market Position by Exploitation of an Intellectual Property Right Katrin Verena, Humboldt University of Berlin; Tongji University

 Latest OEM Trademark Cases – on the Impact of Policy on Judgements Katrin Blasek, Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau

 EU-China Relations in Intellectual Property: a Pendulum Swinging between Conflict and Dialogue Laura Sempi, University of Salento

 To What Extent Intellectual Property Consciousness Assist Intellectual Property Infringement in the Chinese Fashion Design Industry Luo Li, Coventry University Law School

18.00 – 18.30 AULA 6
-- Closing Remarks