China-EU School of Law
In 2008 on behalf of the European Commission and the People's Republic of China, a university consortium under the leadership of the University of Hamburg established the China-EU School of Law (CESL) in Peking. With financial support totalling 35 million euros, the CESL is one of the most prominent European-Chinese cooperative legal projects that will be undertaken by the EU in the coming years. The Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law is an associate in the consortium.
Involved participants include the Universities of Madrid (Spain), Bologna (Italy), Robert-Schuman Strasbourg (France), Sciences Po Paris (France), Lund (Sweden), Leuven (Belgium), Manchester (Great Britain), Krakow (Poland) and Maastricht (Netherlands) as well as the Central European University (Hungary), the Eötvos Lorand University (Hungary) in Budapest und the Trinity College Dublin (Ireland). For China's part, the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) and the Tsinghua University will participate, both located in Peking. The consortium is being significantly supported by the Bucerius Law School, the Max Planck Institutes in Hamburg, Heidelberg, Munich and Freiburg, the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg and several European law firms.
The Chinese Ministry of Education announced its authorisation for the establishment of the CESL on 19 September 2008. The official inauguration took place on 23 October 2008 with the participation of LI Keqiang, Executive Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China and Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.
The CESL has already commenced a two-year graduate program in European law which results in the conferral of a Chinese as well as a European master's degree. Beginning in November 2008 the university will offer professional training modules in various legal fields for Chinese judges, government attorneys and lawyers. Additionally, a Chinese-European research and consultation institute will be erected with the task of providing advice and academic counsel on the reform of Chinese legislation. The first CESL research workshop took place on 10th and 11th January 2009. In 2009 and 2010 the Institute welcomed the most promising candidates of the CESL for their participation in a day-long summer school seminar on European private law.
The European Commission is financing the CESL-Project with up to 17.7 million euros over a five year period. Chinese sources will provide an investment of just under 10 million euros. An additional 7.58 million euros will be supplied by the following consortium partners: the Hamburg Senate is to contribute financing of 2.6 million euros, 1.2 million euros will be provided by the university and 800,000 euros from the German federal government. An additional three million euros will be supplied by international partners of the Hamburg consortium.
Pictures
Prof. Dr. Hinrich Julius (on the left), Dr. Knut B. Pißler and Prof. Dr. Ninon Colneric (on the right) at the first CESL Research Workshop in Beijing in January 2009 |
CESL's celebratory inauguration on 23 October 2008 at the Changping-Campus of the CUPL |
First meeting of the CESL consortium at the Institute from 28-30 January 2008 |