At a glance

Since 1986, from its Beijing office, the Sino-German Legal Cooperation Programme (and its predecessor programmes) has been supporting the legal reforms of the People’s Republic of China on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The primary aim consists in improving cooperation and the mutual understanding of law between Germany and China on selected topics in relation to the state, the economy, and society. Not only the Chinese people, but also German and other international investors have profited from the growing legal certainty this has helped to achieve. The programme is part of the Sino-German Rule of Law Dialogue, which it supports with a broad range of activities.

Context

Within the space of a few decades, the People’s Republic of China has undergone an economic and social transformation without precedent in the world. The economic success achieved in that short period of time, however, has been accompanied by new social tensions, economic challenges and environmental burdens. Against this background, China’s political leadership has been pushing a further development of the Chinese economic model that is more balanced in terms of societal, public welfare, and environmental goals. Strengthening structures for the rule of law is understood as a key factor in this process. The Chinese understanding of the rule of law does differ in many respects from European models of the rule of law. Nevertheless, when carrying out its reforms in the legal sector, the People’s Republic of China has also looked towards the legal situation in (post-) industrialized countries.
Close attention has been paid to German law in this context. Chinese interest here is not restricted to substantive law: methods for the setting of norms and the application of norms have also been the object of increasing interest in China. Yet an adequate understanding of these foreign models is a precondition for being able to use these successfully for China’s own legal development.
For its part, Germany has an interest in better understanding legal developments in China, in order to identify opportunities and requirements for cooperation between both countries. Moreover, it is in Germany’s interest to enable a deeper understanding of German and European law within China, and thus to support Chinese reforms in a way that promotes a stronger focus on the rule of law. Improvements in the rule of law in the world’s most populous country will contribute to sustainable global development, something which will improve the investment environment for German companies generally.

Objective

Effects

The undertaking is a continuation of the “Sino-German Legal Cooperation Programme (2016-2019)”, which was also commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the predecessor project, specialists and managers from China’s legislative bodies were taught key concepts of continental European legislation. Among other areas, they were introduced to the general part of the civil code, the law on domestic violence, the law on electronic business transactions, and the law on international judicial assistance in criminal matters. Other planned laws also covered are due to be passed in the near future.
In their day to day work, over 10,000 Chinese judges make use of the legal methodological expertise they acquired in the training courses organized by the project in cooperation with the National Judges College of the People’s Republic of China. Over 900 judges from both countries have already taken part in the Sino-German exchange for judges, gaining a nuanced picture of the legal situation and of the professional status of their colleagues in the other country.