The 2020 Li Buyun Law Prize Ceremony
On September 19, 2020, the 2020 Li Buyun Law Prize Ceremony was held at Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL). Prof. Wen Zhengbang of SWUPL and Prof. Tom Zwart of Utrecht University in the Netherlands won this award. Prof. Li Buyun, who is the Honorary Dean of Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law (SIFL), and Prof. Fu Zitang, the President of SWUPL and Deputy Chairman of the Li Buyun Law Prize Appraisal Committee, jointly awarded certificates and medals to Prof. Wen Zhengbang and Prof. Tom Zwart.
Prof. Wen Zhengbang, graduated from the Philosophy Department of Sichuan University in 1964, and was transferred to SWUPL in 1978. He is currently a professor of constitutional law at SWUPL .
Han Dayuan, a distinguished professor of Yangtze River Scholars of the Ministry of Education, professor of the Law School of Renmin University of China, chairman of the Constitution of the Chinese Law Society, and deputy chairman of Li Buyun Law Prize Evaluation Committee, gave an award speech to Prof. Wen Zhengbang. Prof. Han pointed out in the award speech that Prof. Wen Zhengbang has made groundbreaking efforts and contributions to the research and development of legal philosophy studies, legal ethics and legal sociology in China, and has pioneered the use of multidisciplinary theories and methods for legal research. He puts forward and discusses the system view of legal reform and the theoretical system of contemporary Chinese legal philosophy. He also expounds the important theories of system civilization and rule of law civilization, the modernization of law and the development strategy of rule of law. The discussion about the legal issues of "one country, two systems", and the social security system Engineering, the rule construction of the law and moral construction for the socialist market economy, the sinicization of Marxist Jurisprudence, the legalization of education, the construction of the new China's constitutional system, the theoretical basis of public law, the construction of a government under the rule of law and honest, and the theories of regional rule of law and the rule of law in non-governmental organizations were also fruitful.
As early as 1991, Prof. Wen Zhengbang published the article "Law Philosophy Thinking on Rights Issues" on China Legal Science, which systematically analyzing some basic issues from the perspective of legal philosophy, such as the composition of rights, the nature and characteristics of rights, the forms of rights, the relationship between rights and obligations, the relationship between rights and power , which have laid the foundation of legal philosophy for the study of fundamental rights in the legal horizon. In 1994, he published an article " the Modern Market Economy Is the Economy under the Rule of Law" in the Chinese Journal of Law, which had a foresight to explore the relationship between modern market economy and rule of law, and put forward an important point of view that the modern market economy must be an economy under the rule of law. In 21st century, Prof. Wen Zhengbang continued to work hard and focused his research on regional rule of law, especially in western development, and became a pioneer in the theory of regional rule of law in China.
Prof. Wen is not only an outstanding legal researcher but also a practitioner of modern legal education. Since 1978, Prof. Wen has been engaged in scientific research and teaching works. He has cultivated a large number of political and legal elites, and made significant contributions to China's legal education and the construction of the rule of law.
Tom Zwart is a professor of law at the International and European Law Department of Utrecht University and the Director of the Cross-cultural Human Rights Centre of the Free University of Amsterdam. Before entering academia he served as the Head of the European and Legal Affairs Department of the Dutch Home Office and as senior counsel to the Dutch Deputy Prime Minister. Zwart’s main interests are human rights law, antidiscrimination law, comparative law, including Chinese and Islamic law, and the interplay between law, culture and religion.
Prof. Liu Zuoxiang, the Distinguished Professor of Shanghai Normal University Guangqi Scholars, Director of the Institute of Rule of Law and Human Rights, Vice President of the Chinese Jurisprudence Research Association, and member of the Li Buyun Law Award Evaluation Committee, gave the award speech to Prof. Tom Zwart. In the award speech, Prof. Liu pointed out that Prof. Zwart established the Cross-cultural Human Rights Network that aims to familiarize the public in developed countries with the concepts and theories of human rights in developing countries, and has been serving as the secretary-general. The network is composed of scholars and universities from all over the world. So far, Prof. Zwart and the Cross-cultural Human Rights Network have established cooperative relationships with the human rights bases of almost all Chinese universities and the China Human Rights Research Association.
Together with Chinese colleagues, Zwart has published several articles on Chinese legal topics, such as law reform, the development of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, the protection offered by human rights, and the localisation of religious minorities. He has given presentations during side events at the United Nations Human Rights Council organized by a Chinese NGO's. He frequently takes part in the Beijing Human Rights Forum and the South-South Human Rights Forum. He believes that "China has begun to play a more important role in building a just and harmonious international order, which also includes the international human rights system."
It is worth mentioning that Prof. Zwart donated the whole amount of the prize money to Linfen Red Ribbon School in his own name.
Dr. Fu Weigang, Dean of the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, stated in his speech that as a vital place for legal education and legal research in China. Since the establishment of SWUPL, successive generations of faculties and have adhered to the motto of "Being knowledgeable, respecting ethics and law" and formed the unique SWUPL spirit that has cultivated a large number of outstanding legal and political talents for the socialist rule of law, and Prof. Wen Zhengbang is one of the outstanding representatives. The “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Upholding and Improving the Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics, Promoting the Modernization of the National Governance System and Governance Capability” adopted by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee pointed out that building a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics or a socialist country ruled by law is an inherent requirement for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.
In the construction of the socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics, the winners of the Li Buyun Law Prize played an indispensable role. Prof. Guo Daohui, Prof. Zhang Wenxian, Prof. Lu Shilun, Prof. Li Long, Prof. Liu Hainian, Prof. Chen Hongyi, Prof. Xu Xianming, and the award-winning Prof. Wen Zhengbang, whose research results influence the construction of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics directly or indirectly.
The Li Buyun Law Prize was initiated by the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law in 2013 to reward individuals and organizations who have made eminent contributions to Chinese legal studies, Chinese and foreign legal research and legal education exchanges. This award is appraised and awarded once a year, and there are one Chinese prize-winner and one non-Chinese prize-winner.
