LAW5455 - Chinese law and innovation policies - 2017

This unit aims to equip future cross-cultural lawyers and regional policy-makers with the ability to understand the relationship between business law and issues of civil society. The unit will focus will be on high profile topics, namely China's internet laws, innovation policies and environmental policy considerations.

Students must create a collaborative research project (a mock business venture or social enterprise) that evaluates whether Chinese laws and regulations are effective, responsive and coherent. Contentious and highly topical issues such as China's complex internet laws and innovation policies will be considered in depth.

Classes will focus on preparedness for practice in an international legal environment, including class exercises and interactive seminars.

Legal systems reflect the cultures and societies in which they operate. Cross-cultural thinking is therefore crucial for foreign lawyers to advise effectively on transnational deals and for policy-makers to create strategic international and regional policy solutions.

Students will gain an overview of the Chinese legal system while focusing on the most important economic issues facing China and the world.

This unit provides a targeted look at China's legal system, its complexity and its dynamic nature, and provides the tools to stay abreast of key changes.

This unit complements LAW5437 China's legal system and they may be taken either as single units or together (in any order).

At the successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• describe how the institutions and culture of the Chinese legal system shape the content and administration of the law;
• articulate the connection between the rule of law, civil society and commercial legal practice;
• demonstrate a developing awareness of the role of law in facilitating the formation, operation and regulation of private legal entities, and the commercial significance of law's role in this respect;
• observe the associated challenges to civil society caused by China's rapid development and appraise how the legal system responds to civil society issues;
• evaluate Chinese laws and regulations as to whether they are effective, responsive and coherent;
• efficiently locate the current law on Chinese legal issues to critically evaluate the relevance, quality, authority and currency of the materials, using online resources;
• select the appropriate online research tools and utilise them to design and implement an efficient research strategy in answer to a legal research question; and
• utilise their developing skills of cross-cultural legal analysis to find objectivity in analysing a foreign legal environment.

Students must create a collaborative research project (a mock business venture or social enterprise) that evaluates whether Chinese laws and regulations are effective, responsive and coherent (5,250 words): 70%

One take-home examination (2,250 words): 30%

24 contact hours per semester (either intensive, semi-intensive or semester long, depending on the Faculty resources, timetabling and requirements)

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