Frontiers of Law in China

ISSN 1673-3428

ISSN 1673-3541(Online)

CN 11-5742/D

Postal Subscription Code 80-981

   Online First

Administered by

, Volume 12 Issue 2

For Selected: View Abstracts Toggle Thumbnails
Orginal Article
EDITOR’S NOTE
ZHU Xiao
Front. Law China. 2017, 12 (2): 161-161.  
https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0010-2

Abstract   PDF (111KB)

References | Related Articles | Metrics
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Michael Blakeney
Front. Law China. 2017, 12 (2): 162-173.  
https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0011-9

Abstract   PDF (196KB)

The protection of geographical indications (hereinafter “GIs”) is required by all members of the World Trade Organization (hereinafter “WTO”), as this is mandated by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (hereinafter “TRIPS”). Among the primary justifications for the protection of GIs is to enable producers to secure the premium prices which are attracted by products which have a unique quality that is attributable to their place of production. As this article points out, one reason for this premium price, in the case of agricultural products is that traditionally produced goods are often free from contaminants, such as herbicides and pesticides. Not previously discussed in the literature is the fact that from an environmental protection perspective, GIs applied to agricultural products provides some consumer confidence in their purity, as well as in their traceability. In securing higher returns for agricultural producers, GIs play an important role in securing rural development and the maintenance of rural landscapes. Finally, the article points out that the international GIs regime provides an important means of protecting the traditional knowledge of agricultural producers.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
NEW PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION IN CHINA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FOOD SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
ZHANG Jiyu
Front. Law China. 2017, 12 (2): 174-192.  
https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0012-6

Abstract   PDF (2998KB)

China is facing increasing challenges in food security and environmental protection, and the plant breeding has made enormous contribution to solving the problems. The legal protection of new plant varieties has the important function of encouraging innovations in the field of plant breeding. However, the widely use of modern biotechnology has caused great controversy in society, and some people propose to limit the scope of plant variety right, especially for Genetically Modified Organisms (hereinafter “GMOs”). When designing and interpreting the regulations on the protection of new plant varieties, we should keep in mind that the plant variety right is a private right aiming to encourage innovation, and take the principles and relationships in the field of innovation into consideration. Proper regulation and incentives for innovation are both the essential themes in the fields of modern technologies. Intellectural property (hereinafter “IP”) laws should focus on encouraging innovation, while the law system, including the Seed Law, the Food Safety Law and the Environmental Protection Law, should provide systematic, scientific and strict regulations on the research, propagation and marketing of new plant varieties. The whole law system and the market can function together to guide the plant breeders to be committed to breeding new varieties that meet the needs of food security, food safety and environmental protection.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
SOURCE CONTROL OR END CONTROL: WHAT CHINA SHOULD DO TO ENSURE EDIBLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT SAFETY FOR EXPORTS?
LI Yanfang, WU Kaijie
Front. Law China. 2017, 12 (2): 193-216.  
https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0013-3

Abstract   PDF (391KB)

The article intends to figure out how agricultural product laws in China could be improved to ensure edible agricultural product safety and reduce potential food trade conflicts. The article first presents the background and legal framework for addressing the safety issues of edible agricultural product in China, with the conclusion that market-entry regulation has failed to perform this task. The article moves on to discuss the disadvantages of market-entry regulation (end-control measures) and the necessity of agricultural producing area safety regulation (source-control measures) on the following six aspects: gap between Chinese and Foreign standards, gap between domestic and export markets, small farms and diffused peasants, historical pollution and extrinsic pollution, lack of government enforcement and lack of consumer supervision. To improve agricultural producing area regulation, this article analyzes the primary drawbacks of current laws, primarily including unreasonable prohibited agricultural producing area standards, unclear pollution prevention rules, and regulatory overlaps and gaps. Finally, this article come up with corresponding solutions which contribute to a growing field of scholarship that examines food safety governance issues in the context of developing countries.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
TOWARDS A GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF CAPTURED ENEMY FIGHTERS
Suzannah Linton
Front. Law China. 2017, 12 (2): 217-277.  
https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0014-0

Abstract   PDF (547KB)

The prevailing narrative instructs us that humane treatment of captured enemy fighters is down to white knights from the western parts of the European continent with their codes of chivalry, or alternatively, the Swiss businessman Henri Dunant. This contribution challenges that narrative for overlooking, or being ignorant of, the way that societies around the world have approached the matter of the captured enemy fighter. Traces of some of the critical principles about humane treatment that we see in our present law can actually be found in much older societies from outside of Europe. A more accurate and representative way of understanding humanitarianism in the treatment of captured enemy fighters can and must be crafted, with the prevailing Euro-centric account balanced with practices, cultures and faiths from elsewhere. The quest to achieve more humane treatment in armed conflict is first and foremost a battle of the intellect. Narratives and conceptualisations that are more inclusive, recognising and appreciating of the ways of the rest of the world are likely to be more effective in communicating humanitarian ideals. This work adopts a new method of approaching the richness and diversity of the treatment of captured enemy fighters over time and space. This new framework of analysis uses six cross-cutting themes to facilitate a broader international and comparative perspective, and develop a more sophisticated level of understanding. The first theme is how older and indigenous societies approached the matter of captured enemy fighters. The second focuses on religions of the world, and what they teach or require. The third section examines the matter of martial practices and codes of ethics for combatants in certain societies. The fourth category engages with colonisation and decolonisation, and regulation (or non-regulation) of the treatment of captives of war. Fifth is the issue of modernisation and the impact it has had on armed forces and fighters, including on the treatment of captives. The final issue is the shift towards formalised agreements, beginning with the first bilateral agreements and then the multilateral codification exercise that began in the mid-19th century and continues to this day. This framework for analysis leads into a final chapter, presenting a fresh and holistic view on the evolution of prisoner of war protections in the international order. It provides a different way of looking at International Humanitarian Law, starting with this effort at a global understanding of the treatment of captured enemy fighters.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
THE COURTS’ ACTIVE ROLE IN THE STRIVING FOR JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE IN CHINA
ZHAO Yanrong
Front. Law China. 2017, 12 (2): 278-309.  
https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0015-7

Abstract   PDF (349KB)

In China, different factors can influence the judicial decision-making process of the courts. However, in more than 30 years’ development, the courts appear to rely on the rhetoric of judicial independence and the Communist Party of China’s endorsement of the importance of law to assert their own interests and institutional identity, and have employed various mechanisms to actively push the development of judicial independence in China.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
CHINESE JURISTS’ MISCONCEPTIONS OF CRITICAL LEGAL STUDIES
XIONG Bingwan
Front. Law China. 2017, 12 (2): 310-332.  
https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0016-4

Abstract   PDF (280KB)

Critical Legal Scholarship was first introduced to Chinese legal academia in late 1980’s, and gained great attentions in the following decade. Later on, however, Chinese jurists showed little interest in exploring more of Critical Legal Scholarship because of their oversimplification of Critical Legal Scholars as indeterminists, deconstructionists, extremists and nihilists. This article points out the typical, gross misconceptions of Chinese jurists to Critical Legal Scholarship, and explores the reasons of such misconceptions. The author of this article hopes that his representation of Critical Legal Scholarship would help to reopen the door for further communications between the Critical Legal Scholarship and their audiences in China. Remarks on how to approach Critical Legal Scholarship further from a Chinese perspective are provided at the end of this article.

References | Related Articles | Metrics
8 articles