Knowledge Transmission and Misunderstanding in Chinese Administrative Law

A View from the Evolution of Administrative Litigation

In the 1980s, in parallel with economic development, China rebuilt its legal system at a rapid pace. After completing the enactment of the General Principles of Civil Law, the legislators quickly abandoned the goal of formulating a ‘basic law of administration’ in the field of administrative law, and turned to attempting to formulate the Administrative Litigation Law.

The Administrative Litigation Law contained the understanding of the basic concepts and rules of European and American administrative law by Chinese academics and practitioners at the time, as well as some subtle misunderstandings. Together, they helped to establish a unique administrative litigation system, but also created considerable obstacles to the full realization of its functions.

About the presenters

Professor Dr. Zhang Li 张力 | China University of Political Science and Law,

Education: Bachelor of Laws, China University of Political Science and Law in 2007
In 2010, he received a master’s degree in constitutional law and administrative law from China University of Political Science and Law
2013 PhD. in Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, China University of Political Science and Law (University of California, Davis School of Law, Joint Doctoral Program)
Research Interests: Administrative Law, Administrative Litigation Law, Health Law, Regulatory Theory
Courses taught: Administrative Law and Administrative Litigation Law, Administrative Law Case Studies, U.S. Administrative Law, etc
Visiting Experience: 2011–12 University of California, Davis School of Law
2017 Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Law, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Academic part-time:
Director of the Administrative Law Research Association of China Law Society
Executive Director of Beijing Supervision Law Society
Deputy Secretary-General of the Soft Law Research Association of the Chinese Behaviour Law Society

PD Dr. Peter Collin | Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory

Peter Collin (born in 1967) has been working at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory (formerly Max Planck Institute for European Legal History) since 2008. After studying law in Berlin (1987–1991) and doing his legal clerkship (1991–1994), he was DFG-Fellow at the Graduate School for European Legal History in Frankfurt/Main from 1994 to 1997. In 1999 he received his doctorate with a thesis in the field of the history of criminal law at the Humboldt University in Berlin. From 1997 to 1999 he worked in legal practice; from 2000 to 2008 he was a research assistant at the Chair of Public Law and European Administrative History (Prof. Erk Volkmar Heyen) at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald. There he obtained a post-doctoral qualification (Habilitation) in public law, modern legal and administrative history and science of public administration in 2008. In 2015, the Legal Department of Frankfurt’s Goethe University affiliated Peter Collin as Privatdozent.