I am honored to join Tongji University in this great time when the country is promoting the rule of law in an all-round way!This is a valuable opportunity for me to realize my aspirations in the training of legal personnel and in the research of legal science ".On July 21, 2020, Professor JIANG, who has just been appointed dean of Tongji University School of Law, said in an interview with reporters at the School Press Center that he hoped to bring into full play his advantages in working experience in 33 years in the highest judicial authorities organs, to contribute to legal education and to the revitalization of legal education at Tongji University.
He worked in the Supreme Court for 33 years
JIANGJIANG, has just worked as a special professor of Tongji University for a month.Before joining the academic circle, JIANG served in the Supreme People's Courtfrom 1987 when he graduatedfrom his university to May 31 this year .During his 33 years at the Supreme People's Court, JIANGJIANG worked in the research office, the Administration Department, China Institute of Applied Law, the Judicial Reform Office and the National College of Judges.He was appointed as a judge of the Supreme People's Court by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1997, served as deputy director of the Judicial Reform Office of the Supreme People's Court in 2006, as director of the China Institute of Applied Law in 2015, and transferred to the National College of Judges for training of judges in 2018.Prior to his departure from the Supreme People's Court, JIANGJIANG was appointed Deputy President of the National College of Judges.
During his time with the Supreme People's Court, besides participating in judicial interpretation and investigation, JIANG was more engaged in judicial reform and applied legal research. He successively participated in the drafting of the first to fourth "Five-Year Reform Outline" of the People's Court. He also participated in the drafting of the Central Judicial System Reform Program and the research, drafting and implementation of the Judicial Reform Program of the Supreme People's Court. However, the most important contribution of JIANG to the rule of law in China lies in his deep exploration of the law of judicature and his promotion of the corresponding measures of judicial reform.Although JIANG has always remained a person of low profile, he is widely recognizedby both the judicial and academic circles.
He is deeply concerned about legal education
While working as a legal practitioner,JIANGwas deeply concerned about some law graduates who had difficulties in adapting their theoretical knowledgeand professional skills to the legal practice.Over the years, he has formed his own understanding about the cultivationof legal personnel and the development of legal research. According to JIANG,legal education in colleges and universities should lay a solid theoretical foundation for students, and on the other hand, it should prepare them for entering the legal profession or doing related work. TheSchool of Law is the "laboratory" and "check field" for the cultivationof legaltalents. Its responsibility is to turngraduates to the "consumers" of legaltalents, which are the state administration departments, enterprises and institutions, social organizations and the whole society that recruit law graduates.
The students' practical ability is developedin legal practice.Therefore, School of Laws must provide studentswith preparatory and simulated practical courses so that they can get into the roles as soon as possible when they start their jobs.JIANG said: "Our School of Law should teach the students basic legaltheories, help students construct their knowledge system anddeveloptheirhealthymind. At the same time,students are also expected to learn the basic professional skills and establish their professional ethics at the School of Law.Such law graduates will be welcomed by all legal firms and institutions!
"You can't be a good judge without learning." “To advance the judicial reform, scientific judicial theories must be put in place first. "With this belief, JIANG has never stopped his judicial research while working in the Supreme People's Court. He has his own ideas about the current legal research in colleges and universities.In his view, the research in colleges and universities should focus on the overall situation of the country's rule of law construction, keep abreast of the times, and carry out innovative research on the important problems that need to be urgently solved in the process of the modernization of the country's governance. “If we fail toexploretopics and absorb nutrientsfrom the development and change of times, it is simply impossible for our legal research to achieve much. "
JIANG also told the reporter that soon after he assumed his new role at Tongji, he had communicated a lot with lawyers, judges and prosecutors in differentfields. He felt more deeply their thirst for professional legal personnel and their expectations for professional legal education. “In a way, the School of Law is run for them”. He said.
Reconstructing Legal Education in the Era of Change
What road should the School of Law of Tongji University take for future development?This is the most important question for JIANG. “The most urgent task we are faced with is to strengthen the infrastructure of the law discipline and to fasten the chassis as soon as possible. Following the rules of teaching and research in law, we aim at "cultivating legal talents of excellence" to seek a way characteristic of Tongji School of Law and Tongji culture”.He said.
JIANG realized fromhis 33-year experience in law that the judicial system of a country was the intersection of all legal problems and legal disputes, the "seven prisms" of all domestic and international legal phenomena, and the "key" of China's construction under the rule of law.Therefore, Tongji School of Law will consider how to take the advantage of judicial system research in promoting, catalyzing and even testing legal education and legal research, so that the graduates of Tongji School of Lawwill receive education and professional training and be able to play a more important role in the law-based world.
The report of the 19th NationalCongress of the Communist Party of China has established the new pattern and system of social governance, among which "dispute resolution" is a professional "governance mechanism package" incorporating many factors such as law, morality, society,people and skills. Drawing onhisexpertise of leading the project of "Reform of Pluralistic Dispute Resolution Mechanism" in the Supreme People's Court for many years, JIANG holds that "Dispute Resolution" may become another important growth point for Tongji School of Law to keep pace with the times and serve the country's governance."Statistics show that a country needs to spend nearly 20% of its human and material resources to resolve disputes", he said.Justice is only one branch of a pluralistic dispute resolution mechanism. It is not the only way to resolve a dispute; nor is it necessarily the most appropriate way to resolve all disputes". He said the School of Law of Tongji University will, in accordance with the requirements of the Central Judicial Reform Program, vigorously strengthen the teaching and research of dispute resolution theories and skills, and focus on developing students' ability to solve disputes so that they can assume the responsibility of national governance.
"At the same time, the School of Law of Tongji University should also becomeone which is open and undertakes social responsibilities".JIANG said the School of Law is a member of the "big community" of Tongji University, to which it is obliged to make its unique contributions first.At the same time, the legal teaching and research should go out of the ivory tower, strengthen itscontact with the community and the society, and its cooperation with the legal practice departments. It should not only serve the society, but also get the nourishment from the society on its way to cultivate outstanding talents of the rule of law.
The society will need more and more crossdisciplinarityand all-round talents in the future.The quality educational resources and research achievements in science and engineering of Tongji University have built favorable ground for the training of new legal talents atSchool of Law. The "Innovation Experimental Area of Engineering (Civil) -Law Composite Talent Cultivation Model "of Tongji University launched in 2014 has already achieved results, based upon which we will continue to expand the scope of similar cooperation and develop the new model of composite excellent talent cultivationunder the rule of law.
In the view of JIANG, the extensive and active international exchanges and cooperation of Tongji University have created good conditions for promoting the internationalization of School of Law.Since the founding of Tongji University School of Law in 1945, it had developed its international links over the years.He said that Tongji School of Law would continue to expand its cooperation with its counterpartson the European continent including Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Finland and Spain to revive the itsstrengths in research on the civil law system and to make the most direct contribution to fostering and developing Chinese legal traditions.At the same time, we will also strengthen cooperation with common law countries, draw lessons from its beneficial civilization of rule of law so that Tongji School of Lawwill walk into the world.
"The mission of School of Law is to cultivate legal talentsto govern the country.It is hard to believethat a first-class university does not have a first-class School of Law.According to the requirements of President XI Jinping for the study of philosophy and social sciences and the cultivationof talents under the rule of law, I believe that a first-class School of Law must satisfy four conditions: To lead the tide of the times, to know the changes of the past and the present, to educate outstanding talents, and to spell out ideas". JIANG said that the School of Law of Tongji University should gradually developits own advanced legalculture of Tongji on the basis of absorbing the abundant nutrition of Tongji culture, so that all sectors of the society can feel the unique Tongji spirit from the graduates of Tongji School of Law. “Under the leadership and support of the Universityparty committee, I am confident that I will run a first-class School of Law.It is hoped that in the near future Tongji University School of Law will become a first-class School of Law compatible with the reputation of Tongji University, which will contribute to promoting the rule of law in China". JIANG said it will take a long time to achieve this goal and we will also face some difficulties.But in any case, he is determined to revitalize the law discipline at Tongji.
Source: https://news.tongji.edu.cn/info/1002/74434.htm
