The Human Rights Research Center of the Renmin University of China was established on Oct. 8, 1991, and was among the first human rights research institutions at a Chinese university. The centeris composed of experts and scholars on law, economics, sociology, philosophy and politics. Prof. Zheng Hangsheng is the director of the center and Prof. Gu Dechun is the deputy director. In 1996, the center was listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in the fourth edition of theDirectory of World Human Rights Research and Training Organizations. Since its establishment, the center has actively conducted research on human rights theory, publicity and education concerning human rights as well as international exchange activities.

 

The university law school in 2005 established the Human Rights Law Research Institute, in order to strengthen the importance of human rights research in the field of legalresearch. The research institute comprises teachers and researchers from jurisprudence, constitutional and administrative law, criminal law, procedural law, civil and commercial law, international law and environmental and resources law. In May 2009, the research institute was merged with the Human Rights Research Center. It is under the coordination and management of the law school.

 

In recent years, the center, under the guidance of the China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS), has actively supported the work of CSHRS, participated in human rights symposiums, made great progress in human rights theoretical research, popularization, education and training as well as international exchange.

 

The center brings the strengths of the humanities and social sciences into full play, integrates the academic resources of schools at the university, and reaches a sound level of interdisciplinary, multidimensional and systematic human rights education and research. In addition to the university’sHuman Rights Research Center and the Human Rights Research Center at the law school, Renmin University of China has more than 10 research institutions studying human rights, such as the International Humanitarian Law Research Center, the Disabled Law Clinic and the Research Center forCombating Poverty Issues.[page]

 

With regards to disabled people’s rights, the university’s School of Labor and Human Resources has set up a legal service center for disabled people’s rights protection and the Development Academy for the Disabled. The legal service center, which was founded in 2001, studies disabled rights and protection from the legal perspective. It was the first specialized public interest group for disabled rights protection, legal studies and legal service. The academy focuses on social security and labor relations to discuss protection for the disabled rights. Prof. Zheng Gongcheng, dean of the school, is president of the academy, which invited Mr. Deng Pufang to serve as an advisor.

 

 

 

Renmin University of China has a long history of human rights research and education. As far back as the 1950s, Prof. Kang Tai of the law school launched human rights law courses such as courses on prison law and reform through labor law. In scientific research, Prof. Xu Chongde, Prof. Zhang Zhengzhao and Prof. Han Dayuan,all of the law school, published Human Rights Thinking and Human Rights Legislation in 1992. Prof. Hu Jinguang and Prof. Han published in 1993 The Contemporary Human Rights Protection System. These two books were among the first books on human rights published in China. With regard to education, in 1982 Prof. Zhu Lisun advised a candidate for a master’s degree whose thesis was, “Development of the Human rights Conceptin International Law.”[page]

 

 

The university has distinct features in human rights research, human rights law and policy consultation, human rights legal aid and human rights education and training.

 

(1) Human rights research at the university and the law school is guided by Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important idea of the “Three Represents” and the Scientific Outlook on Development. The university and the law school explore and study major theories and practical issues in contemporary human rights, and interpret and propagate human rights theories with Chinese characteristics. Prof. Gu Chunde published “The Communist Party of China and human rights in China” (Jurist, vol. 4, 2001) and “Human rights legislation and practice in revolutionary bases” (Human Rights, vol. 3, 2002).

 

(2) The law school pays great attention to interdisciplinary and comprehensive research on human rights, which is quite different from other universities. In the field of humanities and the social sciences, the university uses its academic strengths to carry out interdisciplinary studies. In the field of legal studies, the law school covers all the second-tier disciplines in human rights research, which is an important area of research for many second-tier disciplines, such as jurisprudence, constitutional and administrative law, criminal law, civil law, procedural law and international law. In some particular second-tier disciplines such as criminal law, researchers have conducted a lot of deep research on issues of both domestic and international concern, including the death penalty. Human rights research at the university also focuses on linkages with science and technology advancement and the natural sciences. Prof. Han Dayuan researches legal issues related to euthanasia, human cloning, Internet privacy and human organ transplants. The Coordinated Innovation Center for Food Safety and Administration has organized a group of social scientists and natural scientists to research food safety.[page]

 

(3) While sticking to Marxist human rights principles, the university and the law school emphasize the recognition and pursuit of universal human rights ideas in world civilizations, paying great attention to not only translation and introduction of classics but also research on human rights in non-Western countries, particularly third-world countries in Asia and Africa. While discussing major theoretical human rights topics, the center studies concrete and practical issues such as the disabled, AIDS, freedom of correspondence, religion and the legal system.

 

(4) The university and the law school emphasize policy consultation work, combining theoretical research and policy consultation and simultaneously realizing openness and pragmatism. Prof. Zhu Liyu, who heads the Human Rights Institute of the law school, led a key humanities and social sciences project of the Ministry of Education entitled“The European Union’s China human rights policy and China’s countermeasures.”Another two internal reports, “China-EU human rights relations report: an annual report on economic, social and cultural rights of the EU,” and “China-EU human rights relations general report: comparative studies on human rights in China and the EU,” were presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

 

(5) The university emphasizes legal assistance for disadvantaged groups such as those with lowincome and the disabled, making realizinghuman rights protection a reality. The legal aid center of the university was established in 1999. It organizes legal assistance for the public good and to create practical educational activities for students. Such legal assistance activities help train students, improve their awareness of rights protection and contribute to protection for the disadvantaged. In the second half of 2013, volunteers from the center received inquiries from 1,487 people at the Haidian District People’s Court, representing a total of 396 person-work shifts and 540 hours of advisory service. It successfully filed 20 cases and completed two cases for disadvantaged people.

 

(6) The university trains lawyers, public servants and religious people in the areas of human rights, which helps increase human rights awareness among those people.[page]

 

 

Human rights issues span a large range of disciplines, including law, economics, politics, philosophy, sociology, journalism and management. The level of humanities and social sciences research decides the quality of human rights education and training, and interdisciplinary research and education on human rights are precisely distinctions of the university.

 

The law school, as a national human rights education and training institution, is well developed, with a complete range of disciplines and a solid research foundation. In 2004, 2008 and 2013, the university was ranked first in the discipline of law, with a complete training system for scholars and professionals. The university was among the first universities to offer doctoral degrees to law graduates. The university is now offering doctoral and master’s degrees in all second-tier legal disciplines.

 

 

The university has cultivated a multigenerational teamof talent, including a group of senior scholars who have gained international recognition and many young and middle-aged law experts who have great influence in the domestic legal world and related disciplines. The older generation includes Zheng Hangsheng, Gu Chunde and Lyu Shilun; the nucleus includes Han Dayuan, Wen Tiejun, Zhu Liyu, Hu Jinguang, He Jiahong and Zhu Wenqi. Young and middle-aged scholars include Xiao Jianguo, Yang Jianshun, Li Jianfei and Lin Jia. Young scholars include Ye Chuanxing, Zhang Xiang, Shi Yan’an, Lu Haina, Wang Xu and Zhang Gong.[page]

 

 

The university has formed a good platform for international exchange in human rights, and has cultivated long-term relationships with international human rights organizations and groups.

 

For example, beginning in April 2010, the law school and the European Court of Human Rights have exchanged interns every half year. The law school has sent six interns to the court. In the spring semester of 2012-2013, judges from the court launched an English-speaking course on human rights at the law school. Since 2013, the law school has initiated a programto send interns to the UN High Commissioner’s Office, not only to learn human rights concepts from the UN organization but also to publicize China’s human rights conditions in a multinational setting.[page]

 

The law school has long offered courses taught by excellent international law experts; comparative law professional training programs; overseas summer study programs; roundtable discussions between Chinese and foreign law students; and international organization internship programs. These activities increase the level of internationalization, expand students’ worldview and help raise domestic human rights education and training to aglobal level.

 

In July 2014, the law school cooperated with the Norwegian Center for Human Rights to organize its first human rights summer camp, with a theme of disabled rights and state protection. Since 2014, the law school has cooperated with the European Court of Human Rights to translate Classic Trials of the European Human Rights series, including Right to Life and Right to Privacy and Family Life.

 

 

 

The university has established a complete human rights education system. In terms of curriculum, the university and the law school offer diverse courses for undergraduate and graduate students, such as courses in human rights law and international human rights law for undergraduate law students. It also offers such courses as Human Rights Law Special Topics, European Court of Human Rights Classic Trials and Analyses, the Disabled Rights Clinics, International Human Rights Law, and International Humanitarian Law.

 

In terms of organizing majors, the universitylong ago enrolled doctoral students in human rights law, making it a research direction within the first- and second-tier discipline of legal theory. Since September 2013, the university has enrolledmaster’s students in human rights law. The faculty includes judges from the European Court of Human Rights, experts from the Norwegian Center for Human Rights and professors from the University of Utrechtin the Netherlands and Harvard University.[page]

 

In terms of degree theses, in 1982 Prof. Zhu Lisun advised a master’s candidate whose thesis was“The development of the human rights conceptin international law.”Thiswas one of the first Chinese theses on human rights. In 1991, Prof. Xu Chongde advised a doctoral candidate whose dissertation was“Election rights.”This was one of the first Chinese doctoral dissertations on human rights. By 2012, 93 doctoral dissertations and 174 master’s degree theses at the law school had been written on topics related to human rights, with many being deep and innovative in their theoretical discussion.

 

 

(1) Distinctive human rights research

 

The university has a tradition of Marxist human rights research, while exploring the human rights theoretical system with Chinese characteristics. In 1996, Prof. Gu Chunde’s research project, “Human Rights Theories in ContemporaryChinese Socialism,” was funded by the National Social Science Foundation. Prof. Zhang Xipo led a National Social Science Foundation project, “Compilation of Legal Documents in Revolutionary Bases,” with one volume discussing human rights theories and practices of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

 

The university has published many Marxist human rights theory books, including Marxist Human Rights Theory and Practice by Gu Chunde and Zhu Liyu, which was published in 1997.

 

(2) Fruitful results

 

(i) Papers

 

Teachers at the university have published 495 human rights research papers, with 337 being written by teachers at the law school. Since 2003, teachers and students at the university have published 29 articles in Human Rights, which is edited by the China Society for Human Rights Studies. Some papers have had national influence, such as Prof. Sun Guohua’s “Human rights and socialist legality” (Jurist, vol. 1, 2002), and Prof. Han Dayuan’s “Standardized analyses of the ‘farmer’ article in the Chinese constitution: A study of farmers’ applicationsto become public servants” (Xinhua Digest, Nov. 1, 2007).[page]

 

(ii) Books and translations

 

Teachers at the law school have published 48 books and translations on human rights, which have had great influence. Prof. Gu Chunde and Prof. Zheng Hangsheng compiled Human Rights: From the World to China – Theory and Practice in Contemporary China, which received an award from the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Human Rights History was awarded afirst-levelBeijing Philosophy and Social Science Excellent Results Prize. Other books include Prof. Chen Weidong’s Detention System and Human Rights Protection, Prof. Wang Liming’s Research on Mechanisms of Legal Protection for Disabled Rights and Prof. Zhu Wenqi’s International Humanitarian Law.

 

(iii) Research projects

 

Teachers at the law school have undertaken 49 national, provincial and other human rights research projects. These include nine national human rights research projects, including the July 1996 National Social Science Foundation project,“Human Rights Theories in ContemporaryChinese Socialism,” led by Prof. Gu Chunde; the Aug. 1996 National Social Science Foundation project, “DevelopingCountries’Political Development and Human Rights Protection,” led by Prof. Han Dayuan; and the Dec. 2001 Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Science Foundation project, “Human Rights Protection in Criminal Trial Procedure”led by Prof. Chen Weidong.

 

(3) Rich academic exchange

 

Since 2000, the law school has organized 63 symposiums and lectures, with five on the theme of disabled rights, six on the theme of AIDS patients’ rights and anti-discrimination and 10 on the death penalty. Every year on Dec. 10, the law school organizes activities to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On March 14, 2014, the law school organized a symposium on the10th anniversary of inclusion of human rights in the constitution. Many symposiums have had a great influenceon the scientific community.

 

Teachers at the law school have extensively participated in domestic and international symposiums, not only studying human rights theories and legal conditions in foreign countries but also publicizing China’s human rights development. While adhering to its principles, the law school has used foreign funds to conduct research on China’s human rights issues.[page]

 

 

The university actively takes social responsibility in human rights education.

 

In 2010, the law school began a program of public interest training for lawyers in the Western region, training more than 180 such lawyers, with one-third being ethnic minorities.

 

In May 2013, the law school cooperated with Harvard University to train parents of mentallyretarded people on disabled rights. In May 2014, the center cooperated again with Harvard to organize a similar training program concerning disabled rights. In July 2014, the center organized a summer camp for governmental officials on disabled rights.

 

Since 2008, the university has cooperated with the CPC Central Committee United Front Work Department and the State Administration of Religious Affairs to organize 17 human rights and legal training sessions for patriotic religious figures, many of whom are young and middle-aged religious leaders. In 2012, the university established a research center on law and religion, training religious people in human rights on a regular basis.

 

 

One important task of the center is to offer training for public servants. Since the 1980s, the university has long trained government officials and lawenforcement personnelconcerning the constitutional rights to which citizens are entitled. Since 2005, the law school has organized coursesin human rights theory for judges and prosecutors in Anhui, Jilin, Jiangsu and Hainan provinces.[page]

 

 

(1) Advice on legislation

 

The law school has offered advice and consultation to the National People’s Congress, the State Council, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on legislation or revision of laws, such as, the criminal procedural law, the regulation on education for the disabled and the women’s rights protection law.

 

(2) Contribution to legal revisions

 

The law school has participated in many legal revisions. Prof. Chen Weidong, for example, took part in the revision of the detention center regulation. After field investigation, Prof. Chen submitted a draft of the detention center regulation, which was approved by the Supreme People’s Court and the State Council. Some articles in his draft were included in the revised detention center regulation, which helped push forward human rights protection in the area of criminal procedure. Prof. Chen himself was selected as one of the 10 most influential legal affairs figures in China in 2012.

 

(3) Human rights research paper submissions and human rights popularization

 

In March 1997 asthe United National Human Rights Council was convening, the center was interviewed by China Central Television, publicizing China’s human rights concept and human rights development in China, rebutting fallacies and groundless accusation from Western countries against China.[page]

 

(4) Participation in human rights dialogues

 

Teachers at the university have taken part in many Sino-European and Sino-American human rights dialogues. Prof. Zhu Liyu was a member of several Chinese delegationsthat participated in meetings of the treaty and advisorycommittee of the executive bureau of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, discussing human rights issues.

 

 

The university has developed cooperation and exchange with international academic organizations and international groups in fields such as combating discrimination, prisoners’ rights, AIDS patients, the rights of the disabled, labor rights and social security.

 

(1) Cooperation with international organizations

 

The law school has developed long-term relations with the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the UN High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights. Judges from the European Court of Human Rights regularly teach at the school, which each year sends two interns to the European court. In 2014, the two sides cooperated to translate and publish the European Court of Human Rights Classic Trials and Analyses series, with the first volume, Right to Life, being in the pipeline.

 

(2) Cooperation with foreign educational and research institutions

 

The school has long cooperated with Oxford Law School, organizing in turn large-scale academic symposiums on public law and human rights issues. Prof. Chen Weidong cooperated with the European Union Fund for Global Human Rights to lead an anti-torture research project. Prof. Zhu Liyu took part in Sino-EU higher education cooperation, leading the EU human rights legislation and practice project. Prof. Lin Jia cooperated with the United Nations Development Program in 2012, studying legal institutionsinvolved with AIDS and their impact on related groups. Prof. Lin delivered a speech on a related topic at a China Red Ribbon Beijing forum.

 

(3) International human rights conferences

 

Teachers at the university have taken part in international human rights conferences, such as the Beijing Human Rights Forum and the China-EU Human Rights Forum.[page]

 

 

Guided by the National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015), the university and the center are going to continuously promote human rights knowledge, spread human rights culture, train professionals in human rights, explore and improve human rights theories and practice with Chinese characteristics, and make new contributions to the international community’s understanding of China’s human rights development. The university has sketched a development plan for three years to come.

 

In human rights education and training, the university plans to establish a second-tier discipline in human rights law, enrolling human rights law doctoral students, launching a Web-based course in human rights law, and establishing general undergraduate courses in commerce and human rights and the environment and human rights.

 

In terms of human rights research, the center will publish at the end of each year a bilingual journal China Human Rights Frontiers; publish the European Court of Human Rights Classic Trials and Analyses series; publish The Human Rights Development Report in addition to the four existing reports on polity, society, law and economy; establish a research team on human rights theories with Chinese characteristics to study the content of the rights to existence and development and the state’s obligations, and the rights to food and social security, etc.; and publish a textbook Human Rights Law.

 

In terms of legal advice and policy consultation, the center will actively participate in revisions to the law on protection for minors, bid for and participate in the National Human Rights Education and Training Experience-sharing Meeting, participate in the Beijing Human Rights Forum and submit papers, and actively accept research projects from the government and the CSHRS.

 

The center will also expand and consolidate international exchange and cooperation in human rights, while improving organizational construction of the center itself.