On January 9, 2025, the “Peking University-Yale High-end Forum on Legal Education: Yale Law and China” was held in the Academic Lecture Hall of Koguan Building of Peking University Law School. Representatives of several domestic law schools and well-known scholars who have visited and studied in Yale Law School gathered together to have an in-depth dialogue on the reform and development of legal education and the cultivation of rule of law talents. The opening ceremony of the forum was hosted by Dai Xin, Vice Dean of Peking University Law School.

Guo Li, Dean of Peking University Law School, first delivered a welcome speech. He said that the year 2024 coincides with the 200th anniversary of the founding of Yale Law School and the 120th anniversary of the founding of Peking University's law program, and that the friendship between the two universities is profound and has a long history. From the establishment of the Peking University-Yale Joint Research Center for Law and Policy Reform in 2006, to the appointment of Prof. Paul Gewirtz as the Peking University Pattaya Chair in Globalization and the Rule of Law in 2015, to the addition of Prof. Gewirtz and Prof. Zhang Taisu to the Peking University  Global Chair Program in 2018, the two universities have a deep and long history of friendship. The two institutions have been expanding and deepening cooperation in academic research and talent cultivation. The convening of this high-end forum is of special historical significance. Looking ahead, strengthening the cooperation between Peking University and Yale will play an important role in cultivating outstanding rule of law talents and meeting the challenges of global governance.

In her keynote speech, Yale Law School Dean Heather K. Gerken introduced the 200-year development history and major achievements of Yale Law School. She said that Yale and Peking University Law Schools have fruitful exchanges and cooperation in the fields of talent training and academic research, which fully reflects the common concept and pursuit of the development of legal education between the two sides. Over the past thirty years, the outstanding performance of Peking University students at Yale Law School has been obvious to all. Including Peking University students and scholars, excellent scholars from China have not only enriched the academic atmosphere of Yale Law School with their outstanding academic ability over the years, but also built an important cultural bridge between the two schools. She pointed out that global legal education is facing new opportunities and challenges, and that the two schools should carry out more in-depth cooperation in the future to cultivate future legal leaders with a global perspective and excellent ability.

The two roundtable discussions focused on the reform of legal education and the cultivation of foreign rule of law talents. The first discussion was moderated by Zhang Taisu, Prof. of Yale Law School. Luo Peixin, Vice President of East China University of Political Science and Law, Mei Xiaying, Vice President of University of International Business and Economics, Song Hualin, Dean of Nankai University School of Law and so on, made speeches one after another, sharing the initiatives and experiences of their respective institutions in the areas of innovating the mode of legal education. The second session was moderated by Zuo Yilu, Assistant Dean of Peking University Law School, with the participation of Zhou Hanhua, Researcher of Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Fu Yulin, Professor of Peking University Law School, Wang Zhiqiang, Professor of Fudan University Law School, Cui Guobin, Professor of Tsinghua University Law School, and Gilad Abiri, Assistant Professor of Peking University International Law School. Combined with their own study and teaching experiences, they talked about their thoughts on the similarities and differences between Chinese and American legal education, academic research trends, and the growth of young scholars.

The Peking University-Yale High-Level Forum on Legal Education achieved fruitful results and injected new impetus for deepening the exchange and cooperation between China and the U.S. in the context of the new era. It is expected that the law schools of the two universities will take this opportunity to promote the construction of academic community, and work together to contribute more wisdom and strength to the cause of national rule of law and the civilization of human rule of law.

Translated by: Song Zimeng

Edited by: Yang Xu