Course | Columbia Law School

Over the past thirty years, China has gone from one of the most isolated countries in the world to a major player in international affairs, a leading exporter, and a much more influential voice on regional security matters. Yet even with the rapid economic growth and increased influence that China has achieved over the past several decades, it maintains an ambivalent attitude towards many key aspects of international law and the architecture of global order. This class will explore China?s ambivalent engagement with international law in the context of its increasing prominence as an emerging power, and will in particular look to address the question of how China might adapt to the existing world order, and the ways in which it might look to influence its evolution. The class will cover a range of issues, including China?s membership in the WTO; its engagement with the international human rights regime; China?s approach to international cooperation on issues like global warming and nuclear non-proliferation; and international law aspects of the dispute over the South China Sea; among others.

China's entry into the WTO has brought renewed attention to the question of the role of law in China's interactions with the outside world. This seminar will begin with an examination of China's historical interactions with international law and then will address a range of contemporary topics in which law and arguments about law affect China's interactions with other nations. Topics will include China's entry into the WTO; China's participation in international environmental lawmaking; human rights; Hong Kong, Tibet and Taiwan; private dispute resolution; intellectual property law; China's participation in international efforts to fight terrorism; labor migration and labor standards; and the role of other nations in China's legal reform efforts.