CESL's welcoming ceremony for its 58 double master candidates began on the morning of October 20th, 2008. The ceremony was held on CUPL?s Changping campus and the attendees from the European side included: Mr. Serge Abou, Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Commission to China; Ms. Maria Rosa SABBATELL, Project Official Prof. Ninon Colneric, former Judge of the European Court of Justice and Co-Dean of CESL; and Tom Peart, Interpreter. Attending from the Chinese side were: Mr. Zhang Fusen, former Minister of the Ministry of Justice and Co-Chair of CESL?s Joint Managerial Committee; Mr. Xu Xianming, President of CUPL; Prof. Fang Liufang, Co-Dean of CESL; Director Xu Lan, Office of International Cooperation and Exchange; and the administration team. Prof. Colneric hosted the ceremony.
Representatives from the Chinese and European sides
Mr. Zhang Fusen and President Xu Xianming giving their speeches
Ambassador Abou giving his welcoming speech, and Prof. Colneric hosting the ceremony
Students admitted to the Double Master Program in attendance at the ceremony
Prof. Colneric began her speech by saying: today is the day to realize a dream. She gave a warm welcome to the attendees and the candidates and thanked the administration team for their hard work in realizing CESL and recruiting the inaugural class of CESL. She ended her remarks by giving special thanks to Mr. Zhang Fusen and Mr. Abou for their historic contributions to the founding of CESL.
CUPL's President Mr. Xu Xianming was next to deliver a speech. He commented that this day would be a remarkable day in CUPL's history and that CESL's inaugural candidates were all witnesses to history who would themselves later go on to make their own history. President Xu pointed out that the fastest way to reform China's education system is to combine the excellent resources of the international community with the special potential of China. Accordingly, the aim to exponentially enhance China's education system in just this way is the mission of CESL. Mr. Xu also pointed out that due to the establishment of CESL, CUPL as a whole, already a pillar of legal education and the promotion of law in China, is certain to reach new highs. Finally, he expressed the belief that through the combined efforts of CESL's professors and candidates, the school would not only make history in China but also produce miracles. The candidates of CESL's inaugural class are destined to become outstanding lawyers and legal scholars.
Ambassador Abou followed President Xu's comments with a speech about the requirements demanded by each stage of China's development. When P. R. China was founded, the country needed engineers; during China's initial period of rapid economic growth, it needed business talents. Ambassador Abou believes that now is the time for China to develop the rule of law and the country needs legal talents. He commented that it is legal talents who lead the transformation of society and CESL is the best place to train and develop such talents. He concurred with President Xu that cooperation is the greatest force of progress and that the work of CESL will be to combine the culture, technology, and know-how of the two regions. Ambassador Abou expressed an anxiousness to see CESL become one of the top five law schools in the world. Following these comments, he went on to introduce Europe and the European Union with a power point presentation to the audience. He ended by stating the four keys to the success of the European Union: 1) a common rule; 2) a strict rule of law and solid institutions; 3) the EU as a trade engine; and 4) openness to the rest of the world. Mr. Abou concluded that these four keys are the foundation of peace and prosperity.
Mr. Zhang Fusen delivered his speech to close the ceremony. He briefly recalled the founding process of CESL and his role in those efforts. He reviewed the background of the project, its conceptualization and the physical development of CESL. He also stated that CESL is the result of cooperation between the EU and China; CUPL, UHH and others institutions; and legal scholars and legal practitioners. To enable such historic cooperation was in fact the reason for founding CESL and will be the key to its success. In the open era of China, he added, there are no restrictions on cooperation. He was happy to see that Chinese students will get a chance to see the world without having to actually leave China. Lastly, he expressed hope that CESL's students will make full use of such a rare opportunity to develop themselves as a force for advancing China's rule of law.
The ceremony was concluded and students began their first day of classes at CESL.
By Alton Cheung
Photos from Lu Yunkai
