Call for Papers for 2019 EUPLANT Conference: The Internationalisation of EU Law and EU-China relations

14 February 2019

This Call for Papers is organised by the Centre for European and International Law (CEILA) and the Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context (CLSGC) at Queen Mary University of London in the context of the Jean Monnet Network on EU-China Legal and Judicial Cooperation (EUPLANT).

Submission Deadline: 15 March 2019

Call for Papers

Legal affairs have now become a prominent area of cooperation in the EU-China Strategic Partnership. It is at the occasion of the 17th EU-China Summit that the European Union and China decided that ‘it is necessary to deepen understanding of each other’s legal systems, and agreed to establish an EU-China Legal Affairs Dialogue for policy exchanges, mutual learning and cooperation in legal affairs’ (EU-China Summit 2015).

The conference aims to uncover successes and failures in the internationalisation of European norms, standards, and procedures as well as concrete cases of legal transplants in the interactions between the European and the Chinese legal systems. The conference will critically assess the different processes in which the EU and its Member States have shaped the evolution of the Chinese legal system through natural diffusion, active values promotion, and voluntary borrowing. It will help enhance the mutual understanding between Europe and China on their respective legal systems in those areas of law that are significant in the context of the EU-China Strategic Partnership. The conference also addresses for that purpose the diffusion and defence of values central to the EU legal order.

More specifically, papers can focus on one or more of the following three areas:

EU-China Legal Cooperation in Context

The conference aims to offer theoretical and policy insights into the interactions between the Chinese and European legal systems in their broader geopolitical context. More particularly, the conference aims to assess the extent to which legal transplants can lead to an increased regulatory convergence between the Chinese and European legal frameworks. Against the background of what some regard as a deterioration of rule of law in China, the conference will assess both the risks and opportunities of wider legal cooperation in the context of the EU-China Strategic Partnership. It will also study the impact of China's growing power and influence on European values.

Historical links between European legal systems and the Chinese legal system

Starting from the very first encounters with European nations in the late 19th Century, the conference aims to analyse the influence of European legal traditions in the development of the Chinese legal system; the interactions between the EU and China in global governance that have shaped the evolution of the Chinese legal system (i.e. the impact of China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation); as well as the obstacles to rule of law as they have arisen in Chinese and European history as a result of political system changes, and how such challenges have been met.

Prospects and Challenges for the Internationalisation of European Norms, Standards, and Procedures

The conference aims to uncover successes and failures in the internationalisation of European (EU and Member States) norms, standards, and procedures as well as the impact of China’s emergence as an important ‘norm-maker’ and ‘norm shaker’. It also aims to highlight the prospects and challenges for an enhanced legal dialogue in areas of law that are significant in the context of the EU-China Strategic Partnership. These include but are not limited to:

• Competition law including rules governing merger control, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of market dominance as well as procedural aspects in competition enforcement;
• Environmental law including laws and regulations for pollution prevention and nature conservation, civil and criminal enforcement of environmental law, as well as the interactions between national law and the Global Climate Change Regime;
• Investment Law encompassing the ongoing negotiations of a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between the EU and China and the establishment of Alternative Dispute Settlement Mechanisms with reference to different forms of investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms;
• Law and regulation of Artificial Intelligence including issues of data protection, intellectual property rights, and human rights protection.

Submission Details: Paper abstracts (350 words) and short CVs should be sent to euplant@qmul.ac.uk by 15 March 2019. EUPLANT especially invites junior and early-career scholars and practitioners to apply. Selected paper presenters will be informed within one week. A limited number of grants are available to cover travel and accommodation costs up to a maximum of 800EUR.

Conference Format: The conference targets both an academic and policy audience. It will involve scholars interested in EU and MS legal systems, Chinese law, comparative law, legal theory, European Studies, Chinese studies, and International Relations. Selected speakers will get the opportunity to interact with the Members of the Jean Monnet Network EUPLANT that brings together Queen Mary University of London (Coordinator), King’s College London, University of Bologna, University of Leuven, Erasmus University Rotterdam, City University of Hong Kong, Beijing Normal University, and Tsinghua University. The best papers will be published as part of an edited volume.

For more information, please visit https://www.qmul.ac.uk/euplant/about/ or contact Dr Matthieu Burnay (Queen Mary University of London) at m.burnay@qmul.ac.uk.