Prior Grants
The Fund has awarded 111 grants to support a wide variety of rule of law projects undertaken jointly by US and Chinese partners, including:
2009
- Researching and disseminating comparative information on mental disability assessment procedures used in the United States and other countries, for use by Chinese judges, scholars, and policymakers, developed by the Rights Practice and China University of Politics and Law.
- Printing and distributing a model legal rights curriculum for AIDS-affected communities in China, sponsored by Asia Catalyst and the Korekata AIDS Law Center.
- Convening a conference that focuses on areas of law that affect human and civil rights, convened by the National Committee on US-China Relations and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development.
- Developing a law school-level mediation course and training Chinese law professors on how to use the course materials, sponsored by Pepperdine University School of Law and the Beijing Arbitration Commission.
- Identifying key issues, impacts, and obstacles under China's draft Social Security Law, sponsored by the University of Hawaii Law School and Beijing University Law School's Labor Law and Social Security Law Institute.
- Training staff of a legal clinic focused on death penalty cases in China, sponsored by Cornell University Law School and the China University of Political Science and Law.
- Developing a module on microcredit as part of a Chinese law course on credit and guarantees, sponsored by the University of Maryland School of Law and the Central University of Finance and Economics' Law School.
- Producing a handbook and a radio program on disability and employment rights for Chinese employees, sponsored by Harvard Law School and Beijing United (Lianhe) University.
- Providing pre-employment education on rights and self-protection to people in earthquake-affected areas of Sichuan, sponsored by the Council of Overseas Chinese Services and the Southwest University for Nationalities.
- Providing legal and documentation training for women living with HIV/AIDS, sponsored by Asia Catalyst and Sisters United.
- Promoting participation of China's legal professionals in civic and law-related education, sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
2008
- Establishing an annual forum on government information publishing, dissemination, and disclosure in Beijing to promote government information freedom, sponsored by Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri, in cooperation with the National Library of China.
- Providing pre-employment training on labor law and worker rights to minority Tibetans and Qiang people in the Ma'erkang Area. This project is sponsored by the Council of Overseas Chinese Services, New York City, in conjunction with Southwest University for Nationalities.
- Establishing a pilot e-learning platform for training criminal defense lawyers in China, sponsored by the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, and International Bridges to Justice, Boston, Massachusetts, in cooperation with Peking University Law School.
- Initiating a distance-learning, Internet-based course in international human rights and mental disability law at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Law. The project is sponsored by New York Law School in cooperation with Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
- Creating China's first course in AIDS law and the establishment of a national hotline to provide AIDS law counseling services, sponsored by Asia Catalyst, New York City, in cooperation with China Orchid AIDS Projects, Beijing.
- Conducting a study on the effects of recent labor legislation on Chinese industrial relations, sponsored by the International Labor Rights Forum, Washington, DC, in cooperation with Shenzhen Spring Wind Labor Dispute Consultation and Service Center.
- Creating and disseminating a practical guidebook for legal aid in rural China with a particular focus on assisting farmers with issues related to their land rights, sponsored by the Rural Development Institute, Seattle, Washington, in cooperation with Guangxi University Law School.
- Teaching US commercial space law at the Harbin Institute of Technology School of Law and China University of Political Science and Law, sponsored by the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law, University of Mississippi School of Law.
- Conducting a study on outsourcing to civil society organizations for social services to include international experience and lessons, and recommendations for China, sponsored by the International Center for Civil Society Law, Crownsville, Maryland, in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Beijing.
2007
- Conducting empirical research and creating a pilot program on alternative dispute resolution options in China's courts;
- Conducting a collaborative research project on obstacles/solutions to improved implementation and enforcement of China's environmental laws and organizing workshops for environmental law teachers in Guangdong;
- Conducting an assessment of how the Supreme People's Court's new death penalty guidelines are being applied in Beijing, Shandong, and Guangdong;
- Expanding a continuing program to enhance the quality and scope of legal representation of ethnic minority criminal defendants in China;
- Providing legal resources to low-income female workers in China with a particular emphasis on prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace.
- Continuing an Advanced Program in Judicial Administration for Chinese judges in cooperation with the Shanghai High People's Court;
- Establishing the first legal aid center for people living with HIV/AIDS in Beijing, China;
- Providing assistance to the PRC Ministry of Civil Affairs in drafting a new Charity Law to facilitate the development of a legal-enabling environment for charity organizations in China;
- Organizing monthly public forums in Beijing to bring together lawyers specializing in property rights and realty management, government officials, neighborhood officials, homeowners' associations representatives, urban planners, and legal and social science scholars to discuss community issues related to property management and elections of homeowners' representatives and committees; and
- Expanding a continuing program to provide community outreach, public education and pre-employment training for migrant workers in several Chinese provinces.
2006
- Supporting a study to explore the use of criminal sanctions to enhance trademark protection in China;
- Providing Chinese farmers with legal information and representation by training legal aid lawyers in China's rural land laws and policies;
- Supporting the Berkeley China Intellectual Property Rights Leadership Program to enhance business and policy cooperation between the United States and China in the area of intellectual property rights education and research;
- Publishing a health law textbook for Chinese law schools as part of a multi-year effort to support the development of health law as an academic discipline and professional specialty in China;
- Expanding a continuing program to enhance the quality and scope of legal representation of ethnic minority criminal defendants in China.
2005
- Conducting comparative studies of the US and PRC government information publishing and dissemination policies and procedures;
- Conducting a study of the lawyer's role in China's criminal investigation procedures in comparison with civil liberties guarantees for defendants in the US criminal justice system culminating in recommendations for reforming the criminal defense process in China;
- Producing an implementing platform for China's newest legal development on sexual harassment in the context of employment;
- Continuing support of a program to provide community outreach and public education for migrant workers in China;
- Continuing support of an Advanced Program in Judicial Administration for Chinese judges in cooperation with the Shanghai High People's Court;
- Conducting clinical legal research on possible reforms of the legislative framework and practice of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions;
- Producing additional issues of the American Law Review in Chinese;
- Conducting research on the reform of the People's Congress system and democratization in China;
- Developing a legal enabling environment for civil society organizations in China;
- Organizing a community outreach and public education program for migrant workers in the Zhujiang Industrial Delta;
- Conducting a two-day caucus in Nanchang on copyright law;
- Conducting a pilot project to improve access by rural migrants to legal aid and other governmental services in urban areas;
- Developing a training program for Chinese criminal defenders in Gansu.
2004
- Assisting in the revision of China's Code of Civil Procedure;
- Establishing a US-China labor law exchange network;
- Supporting a new center for public participation processes in China;
- Conducting a survey-based assessment of Chinese court performance in commercial litigation;
- Conducting a four-region comparison of China's labor regulations and standards;
- Providing intensive training to two Shanghai judges on international commercial law and judicial administration in a US law school environment;
- Continuing support for a training program for Chinese professionals in alternative labor dispute resolution;
- Supporting the Chinese National Rounds of the 2005 Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition;
- Conducting a study to develop the most effective strategies to address the improvement of victim rights in China;
- Conducting three conferences (in Kunming, Shanghai, and Beijing) to support the development of health law as an academic discipline/professional specialty in China;
- Conducting a study of the current state of consumer protection in China, to include a comparison of consumer protections in the United States and China;
- Developing a model program to promote civil rights law and practice in China;
- Conducting a three-day conference in China on the Amendment of the State Compensation Law.
2003
- Creating a journal of American law for Chinese readers;
- Producing a manual to accompany a software program for English-Chinese translation of legal terms used in international trade;
- Enhancing the accessibility of legal services to the population of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region;
- Conducting one in a series of conferences focusing on East Asian nations' experiences in conducting judicial reform and strengthening judicial independence;
- Supporting a US instructor in the field of clinical legal services at a Chinese university;
- Supporting summer internships for Chinese trainees at US legal aid centers;
- Conducting a workshop and producing resource materials for enforcing redevelopment-related property rights in China;
- Establishing a commercial dispute resolution facility;
- Organizing a conference on the prospects for constitutional reform in China;
- Supporting the Chinese National Rounds of the 2004 Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition;
- Conducting comparative studies of the US and PRC legal citation systems with the long-range goal of developing a uniform standard for China;
- Conducting a patent training workshop at a Chinese university.
2002
- Analyzing China's new Government Procurement Law in relation to China's laws regulating government behavior to help prevent abuses by government purchasing agents;
- Conducting a legal training seminar for Chinese judges on intellectual property rights protection;
- Conducting a series of short-term intensive courses on US corporate and securities laws at a Chinese law school;
- Conducting a training seminar designed to assist in the implementation of China's newly adopted Rural Land Contracting Law;
- Conducting a series of seminars bringing US and PRC labor law specialists into direct contact;
- Conducting a program to teach the fundamentals of World Trade Organization (WTO) law and dispute resolution process to 25 Chinese judges;
- Conducting legal advocacy workshops for women in four regions in China with a focus on the labor rights of women;
- Creating a nonprofit China information technology law website.
2001
- Identifying the administrative law reforms and laws with respect to transparency that China must enact to comply with WTO requirements;
- Conducting a workshop and research on freedom of information and open government in China;
- Undertaking field research in two locales to identify impediments to full implementation of China's labor law;
- Assessing legal aid needs in one Chinese province and creating a criminal investigation and defense manual for Chinese legal aid attorneys;
- Conducting a series of interdisciplinary seminars in China on WTO standards, structure, and procedures, focusing on rule of law and conflict resolution in the WTO context;
- Enhancing legal skills training for providers of legal services for women, especially in the area of domestic violence;
- Developing a web-based WTO course for PRC provincial and local officials and enterprise managers;
- Conducting an international symposium for PRC policy makers and legislators on rural land law reforms in China;
- Assisting in the development of a cooperative teaching program on alternate labor dispute resolution.
2000
- Compiling a handbook for village elections in China;
- Training PRC administrators, regulators, and lawyers in the application of legal rules in the WTO environment;
- Developing an improved code of legal ethics for Chinese lawyers;
- Undertaking a study of the rule of law, constitutionalism, and judicial independence in China;
- Undertaking a study of the legal impact on China and the United States of China's accession to the WTO;
- Drafting a codification system for PRC laws for use by lawyers and non-lawyers;
- Assisting the study of US securities law by PRC securities regulators and Chinese students.
1999
- Undertaking a comparative study of human rights protections and the administration of justice in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong;
- Improving PRC administrative procedures and practices;
- Preparing an English-Chinese dictionary of Anglo-American legal concepts and terms;
- Producing Internet-based seminars for Chinese judges, lawyers, and law students about the US legal system;
- Improving the delivery of legal aid to the poor in China;
- Improving the teaching of business law and securities law in China.
