Dr. Zou Keyuan

Dr. Zou Keyuan

Senior Research Fellow, East Asian Institute, NationalUniversity of Singapore

Administrative Reform and Rule of Law in China

Rule of Law has become a popular jargon in Chinese society since its adoption in the Third Amendment to the Chinese Constitution in 1999. After the transition of the Chinese leadership from the third generation of leaders to the so-called fourth generation, a new significant document was issued in April 2004 and has ushered in a new era of administrative reform in China. This lecture will discuss the new developments and the legal aspects of administrative reform. It will also try to evaluate whether it is correct to maintain that the rule of law concept has been reflected in China. The talk will also discuss the relationship between Party and law in China.

Dr. Zou Keyuan is Senior Research Fellow at the East Asian Institute (EAI), National University of Singapore. His specialty is international law and Chinese law. He obtained Ph.D. in Law in 1989 from PekingUniversity (China). Before joining EAI, he worked in DalhousieUniversity (Canada), PekingUniversity (China), and University of Hannover (Germany). He has published more than 40 refereed articles in more than 20 international journals. His new books include Law of the Sea in East Asia: Issues and Prospects (London/New York: Routledge, 2005), China’s Marine Legal System and the Law of the Sea (Leiden/Boston: Martinus Nijhoff, 2005), and China’s Legal Reform: Towards the Rule of Law (Leiden/Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, forthcoming).  He is Academic Advisor to the China National Institute for the South China Sea Studies in Hainan, China.