Objective
Legal certainty and the acceptance of court decisions presuppose that the courts apply the law according to uniform criteria and come to the similar decisions when confronted with similar facts. In order to promote the uniformity, predictability, and fairness of the administration of justice, the Sino-German Legal Cooperation Programme supports the training of Chinese judges and of future jurists in the methodology of the application of norms according to the rule of law. Due to the particular role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in criminal proceedings as the investigating and prosecuting authority, the Sino-German Legal Cooperation Programme also supports the training of Chinese lawyers with the objective of making a long-term contribution to greater transparency and fairness in criminal proceedings.
Partners
Together with the National Judges Academy of the People’s Republic of China, the Programme organizes training courses on the methodology of the application of law.
Training courses on criminal law and criminal procedural law are carried out with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate Theory Research Institute.
The legal training is supported through events at partner universities such as the China University of Political Science and Law in Peking.
Approach
In the training courses on the methodology of the application of law, the Chinese Judges are taught the technique of subsumption and relation that is firmly established in German legal education and practice. With the aid of this methodology, lawyers of all professional fields arrive at uniform, predictable and thus transparent solutions – even in cases in areas of law unknown to them. The courses, which take place regularly, have now become an integral component of the training of the Chinese judiciary and have been completed by over 10,000 Chines judges. In addition, together with the National Judges Academy of the People’s Republic of China, extensive course materials have been developed, which now comprise eight volumes and are used throughout the country for the training of judges.
The established course content and materials are also used in adapted form in university seminars. The presentation in a university context of the methodology of the application of norms in accordance with the rule of law enables prospective lawyers to learn early on how to employ the judicial case-solving technique in a practical context, and to integrate it into their own working practice already at the start of their career.
The training courses with the Chinese Public Prosecutor’s Office provide the participants with and insight into various aspects of German criminal law and criminal procedural law and their underlying ideals, as well as in the professional responsibility of prosecutors in Germany.