The Chinese Constitution (Art. 126) prescribes: "The people's courts shall, in accordance with the law, exercise judicial power independently and are not subject to interference by administrative organs, public organizations or individuals."

For decades, how has this provision of the Constitution been enforced? And how to "ensure that judicial bodies exercises their judicial powers fairly and independently"? Professor Zhiwei Tong will discuss some fundamental issues in the reform of the Chinese judicial system, such as the reasons the Chinese judicial system lacks the necessary authoritativeness; the de facto position of a court in the pyramid-like hierarchy of the unified State-Party structure; the reasons China's justice has no sufficient credibility and what can and cannot be changed in China's judicial reform; could the courts or judges be tolerated holding a neutral position? Professor Tong will give his assessment of the current project designed for judicial reform in China and discuss the prospects of the reform.

Tong Zhiwei is a professor of law at East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL) in Shanghai, where he serves as the director of the Center for Rule of Law in China. He serves as the vice president of the Constitutional Law Society of China and acted as the editor-in-chief at the journal Legal Science Monthly《法学》for a long time. He is currently a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School’s East Asian Legal Studies. Prior to joining ECUPL, he was a professor of law and acting dean at Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Law.

Aside from his academic career, he is also an active commentator on a range of social issues related to Chinese laws and politics. Professor Tong has published extensively on constitutional questions, including On the Structure of the State(Wuhan University Press, 1997), Legal Rights and Constitutional Government(Shandong People’s Publishing House, 2001), and  Constitutional Law(Tsinghua University Press, 2008), and he continues to be an active participant in debates over socialist constitutionalism. Professor Tong is a leading public intellectual in China and has articulated his support for judicial independence and the limitation on state power in articles and papers he wrote about the ‘Chongqing Model’ and Bo Xilai’s ‘Smash the Black’ anti-crime campaign. Professor Tong received his PhD and master’s degree in law from Wuhan University and diplomas in Comparative Studies of Political System from Fudan University and Jinzhou Teachers’ College.

This event is sponsored by the University of Chicago Law School International Programs, the China Law Society, and the East Asia Workshop. Lunch will be provided.

This event is open to the public, but seating may be limited.