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Norwegian China Law Centre
Conference

The Role of Courts in Evolving Societies

Norwegian China Law Centre at the Faculty of Law, University of Bergen, Renmin University of China Law School and University of Bielefeld, Germany are jointly organising the conference "The Role of Courts in Evolving Societies" in Beijing 25-26 May 2018.

Beijing from a far
The Centre is having an increased focus on activities which may fister future research collaboration projects.
Photo:
Eirik Holmøyvik

Main content

Even if the Chinese legal system in many ways is very different from the Europan legal system, a common feature is that both Chinese and European courts to an increasing extent have to take transnational sources of law into account, and that both the Chinese and the European court systems are in continous transition. Chinese and European judges and academics will gather in Beijing in May to shed light on various questions related to internationalisation and transition of the courts.

The conferene is the first step towards collaboration on the joint research project  "The Role of Courts in Evolving Societies: A Comparative Study of European and Chinese Experiences".


Conference Programme

The conference will open Friday 25 May. A conference dinner is hosted on Friday evening. 

The conference programme has three parts, where the two first topics will be explored on day one, while the third and final topic will be explored on day two.

Opening Ceremony

08.30-09.50 Opening ceremony

Chair:

   ZHU Yan, Professor, Renmin Law School
   Bjørnar Borvik, Professor, University of Bergen Faculty of Law

Opening remarks

   WANG Liming, Executive Vice-President and Professor, Renmin University of China
   H.E. Geir O. Pedersen , Ambassador, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beijing
   TAO Kaiyuan, Vice President and Justice, Supreme People's Court of P.R.C
   Karl Harald Søvig, Dean and Professor, University of Bergen Faculty of Law
 

Keynote Speech

   Magnus Matningsdal, Justice, Supreme Court of Norway
   Topic: Trends in the Case-Law from the Supreme Court of Norway in the 21st century

 

09.50-10.10 Tea Break & Group photo

 

Panel B: The rationale for making court systems more efficient and effective. Ideals and realities.

13.30-15.00 B.1  Advanced Research on Court practice

Chair:

   YAO Hui, Professor of Renmin Law School, Deputy Chief Judge of the Civil Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court
   Anne Sanders, Professor, University of Bielefeld

Speakers (30 minutes for each speaker):

   David Stephen Law, Professor, Washington University, St. Louis
   Topic: Time-saving devices in the U.S. Federal Appellate Courts

   CHEN Weidong, Professor, Renmin Law School
   Topic: China’s Judicial Reform and Judicial Efficiency

14.30-15.00 Discussion

15.00 Tea Break
 

15.20-16.50 B.2 Young Researchers exploring national courts

Chair:

   ZHANG Jianwei, Professor, Tsinghua University School of Law
   Asbjørn Strandbakken, Professor, University of Bergen Faculty of Law

Speakers (20 minutes for each speaker):

   Henrik Litleré Bentsen, PhD Candidate, University of Bergen Faculty of Social Sciences
   Topic: Dissenting Opinions of the Norwegian Supreme Court

   Vanessa Hellmann, Research Fellow, Bielefeld University
   Topic: A Law Triangle: The German Constitutional Court and its European Neighbors

16.20-16.50 Discussion


16.50 Tea Break
 

17.10-18.30 B.3  Court Management

Chair: 

   DU Wanhua, Judge and Former Member of the Judicial Committee, Supreme People’s Court of P.R.C
   Ragna Aarli, Professor, University of Bergen Faculty of Law

Speakers (20 minutes for each speaker):

   Andreas Lienhard, Professor, Bern University
   Topic: Basic Research into Court Management in Switzerland

   ZUO Weimin, Dean and Professor, Sichuan University Law School
   Topic: Some Thoughts on the Court Management in China

18.00-18.30  Discussion

18.30 Conference dinner
 

Panel C: The role of the judge in making court systems more efficient and effective

Saturday 26 May 9.00-12.15

Chair:

   HE Jiahong, Professor, Renmin Law School
   Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde, Professor, University of Bergen Faculty of Law  

Speakers (15 minutes for each speaker):

   Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen, Justice, Supreme Court of Norway

   Reinhard Gaier, Former Justice, Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

   Sir Richard Aikens, Former Lord Justice, Court of Appeal of England and Wales

   Nina Betetto, Judge, Supreme Court of Slovenia

   JIANG Huiling, Judge of the Supreme People’s Court of P.R.C, Director of the China Institute of Applied Jurisprudence

   XUE Feng, Vice President and Judge, Beijing Dongcheng District People’s Court  

10.45 Tea Break

11.15 Plenary discussion

Closing Ceremony

12.15 Closing Ceremony

Chair:

   HAN Dayuan, Professor, Renmin Law School
   Elisabeth Steiner, Former Judge, European Court of Human Rights

Concluding remarks

   ZHU Jingwen, Professor, Renmin Law School
   Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde, Professor, University of Bergen Faculty of Law
   Sir Richard Aikens, Former Lord Justice, Court of Appeal of England and Wales

13.00 Lunch