SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 21 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Led by China’s former Minister of Justice Zou Yu, Hong Kong’s former Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa, and Chief Justice Andrew KN Li of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, a group of leading jurists, lawyers, and legal scholars from around the world will be gathering in Shenzhen on October 22, 2008, to mark the dedication of the Peking University School of Transnational Law (“STL”). The day’s keynote address will be delivered by United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
STL is mainland China’s first western-style law school. Located on the Shenzhen campus of the mainland’s preeminent university, STL opened its doors to an entering class of 55 students last month. The students have all completed undergraduate studies in subjects other than law before beginning the three-year Juris Doctor curriculum. Their studies are all in English, and center on an exploration of the common law, in classes taught using the Socratic method.
“This is a great day for legal education – in China and around the world,” said Jeffrey S. Lehman, the school’s Chancellor and Founding Dean. “STL builds on the historic commitment of Peking University to excellence in legal education, and combines it with the adventurous, internationalist spirit of Shenzhen. It is a bold experiment, and we are enormously grateful to the many individuals and organizations that have committed themselves to its success.”
Lehman is the former president of Cornell University, former dean of the University of Michigan Law School, and former president of the American Law Deans Association. He was recruited to STL by Peking University Vice President Hai Wen.
Hai, a renowned economist, has led the development of Peking University’s Shenzhen campus, and most notably its HSBC Business School. The HSBC Business School will also host an Unveiling Ceremony on October 22, later that morning.
STL has many important ties to Hong Kong, and many Hong Kongers – in addition to Chief Justice Li – are expected to participate in the day’s festivities. Perhaps the most significant tie is Professor Peter Malanczuk, the C.V. Starr Professor of Law at STL. Professor Malanczuk, the former dean of the City University of Hong Kong Law School, is teaching transnational law.
For further information, please contact Jiang Siyu at syjiang@stl.szpku.edu.cn or +86-137-2371-7065, or Xu Hua at xuhua@stl.szpku.edu.cn or +86-134-2429-0335.
For more information, please contact:
ANGELA WANG
Tel: +1-212-313-9599 x3
