Abstract

The Chinese legal system plays a crucial role in building China’s political, economic, and social foundations. Despite its authoritarian nature, the Chinese Party-state claims to envision rule-based governance in China. But what is the relevance of Chinese law to the discourse of the rule of law ideals in western countries? How can we assess the effects of China’s legal change in the past century and, above all, in the past four decades? To what extent does China’s constitutional arrangement also fulfil the paragon of “separation of power” and “checks and balances”? This talk will explore the concept of Chinese law in historical context, examine the basic structure of the Party-state, and provide an overview of certain critical aspects of Chinese law that would inform a general understanding of China’s legal system.

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