Institute on Chinese Law and Business Summer Program
May 26 to June 30, 2019
St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio and Beihang University in Beijing invite you to participate in a summer study abroad program on the law of representing clients doing business with China.
Classes and field trips are complemented by internship opportunities with law firms, legal publishers, and a human rights lawyer.
Read more about a firsthand experience
Students in good standing at any ABA- or state-approved law school are eligible to enroll.
Listen to students and faculty talk about their China experience.
Study law abroad
The St. Mary’s University School of Law Institute on Chinese Law and Business is a program of legal studies that prepares law students for the challenges of representing clients doing business with Chinese partners. Through an array of business-related courses, field trips, and guest speakers, the Institute introduces students to the Chinese legal system and the instruments of international and domestic law governing cross-border sales of goods, protection of intellectual property and investments.
Participants learn about the practical realities of doing business in China, as well as the dispute resolution mechanisms that play a large role in enforcing private agreements between enterprises in China and the United States.
About St. Mary’s University
St. Mary’s University School of Law, founded in 1927, is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). As the leading Catholic law school in the Southwest, the School of Law currently enrolls more than 800 students in a full-time program and an evening division. The law school offers joint degrees and an LL.M. program in addition to the J.D. degree program.
About Beihang University
Beihang University is a preeminent Chinese university in science and engineering, with 59 undergraduate programs, 38 masters’ programs, and 21 doctoral programs and approximately 28,000 students. Beihang University School of Law offers LL.B. and LL.M. degree programs. The school’s various research centers and institutes include the International Law Center and the Research Center for Anglo-American Law. Dean Weiqiu Long and Professor Xinqiang Sun, both of whom were Fulbright Scholars in the United States, have each spoken at St. Mary’s home campus in Texas and published in the St. Mary’s Law Journal. Sun will teach a course as part of the Institute.
Application for China Program
Enrollment and housing applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and must be accompanied by a refundable $100 tuition deposit. Visiting students must submit a letter of good standing from an ABA- or state-accredited law school.
Students in the Institute take six credits of study. The four required courses are: International Business Transactions (two credits), International Intellectual Property (two credits), International Human Rights (one credit) and Introduction to Chinese Law (one credit).
See additional information and registration form.
To apply, contact:
St. Mary’s University School of Law
Institute on Chinese Law and Business
One Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio, Texas 78228
210-431-2056
chinalaw@stmarytx.edu
Dates, Tuition and Housing
The law school study abroad program in China runs from Sunday, May 26 to Sunday, June 30, 2019. Enrollment is not limited, but is unlikely to exceed 40 students. Classes are scheduled from morning to noon. Students may travel during two long weekends and one five-day break to Shanghai, Xian or other destinations throughout China. Students participate in field trips to a law firm, a government agency and an arbitration office.
Classes are conducted on the campus of Beihang University in Beijing – a pre-eminent Chinese institution of higher education with modern instructional venues, libraries and technology. Students have access to many of the facilities on campus for study and recreation.
Living accommodations are available on campus in a hotel owned and operated by Beihang University. The hotel features simple Western-style shared guest rooms. Each room comes with a private bath, television and free internet access. The rate for a two-bed room is about $900 per person for 36 days (check-in Saturday, May 26, and check-out Sunday, July 2). Breakfast is included.
Alternatively, luxury accommodations are available at a nearby five-star hotel for about $95 per night for two persons.
This worksheet explains how a student can minimize the costs of studying law abroad.
Summer study abroad scholarships
The China Pioneer Fund is named in honor of Dean Emeritus Charles E. Cantú, who initiated the China International Study Program. To apply, please submit the 2018 China Pioneer Fund Honorarium Application form to Sister Grace Walle, F.M.I. by noon on March 31, 2019.
Course Information
All classes are taught in English.
The program of study is academically demanding. Regular class attendance is required. In each course, the goal is to make the classroom experiences, and related guest lectures and field trips, intellectually engaging and inspiring.
All students in the Institute take six credit hours of study, which consists
of the following four courses:
International Business Transactions and China (two credit hours, Professor Vincent R. Johnson) explores the Convention on the International Sale of Goods and other Chinese and international laws relevant to business relationships between American and Chinese entities. Topics include cross-border sales, outsourcing, foreign agents and distributors, business format franchising, joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises.
International Intellectual Property Law (two credit hours, Professors Robert H. Hu and Xinqiang Sun) discusses the licensing and protection of intellectual property against the larger backdrop of international trade and commerce, with particular reference to intellectual property rules applicable in the United States and China.
Introduction to Chinese Law (one credit hour, Professor Chenglin Liu) introduces students to the history and institutions of the Chinese legal system, including the governmental structure, legislative process, court system, sources of law and enforcement mechanisms. It also explores important substantive areas of the law, such as the rules governing property ownership.
International Human Rights: Business-related Issues (one credit hour, Professor Ping Jia) introduces students to the global regime designed to protect the human rights of natural persons. Emphasis is placed on the role of national states, international organizations, business entities and nongovernmental organizations.
Passports and Visa Information
Travel to China requires both a passport and a visa. Information about obtaining a United State passport can be found on the State Department website. We also have passport applications in the director’s office of the law library. Please stop by to pick one up or email rhu@stmarytx.edu. Participants in the Institute are encouraged to read the State Department’s country-specific information for China.
Visa Procedures
As a service to students, the China program staff, in collaboration with a travel agency in Houston, offers to handle visa applications for St. Mary’s law students enrolled in the China program. A student wishing to use this service must provide the following documentation:
1. Your passport. The Chinese government requires a passport valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry.
2. A passport photo. Photo should be in color and recent.
3. A fee of $190. The fee includes $140 for visa application and $50 for service charge. A check or money order is accepted for payment. The check should be made out to “St. Mary’s University – China Program”.
4. An application form. The form and instructions can be found on the Consulate General of China in Houston’s website. The application must be typed. Professor Hu can assist with the application form if needed.
5. Invitation letter. The invitation letter from Beihang University will be provided to you by the St. Mary’s School of Law.
All the above documentation and payment must be submitted on or before April 21 to Professor Hu’s office in the Law Library. You will get the visa back by May 8.
If you miss the above deadline, you must secure a visa on your own. The form and instructions can be found on the Consulate General of China in Houston’s website. We will give you an invitation letter and provide you with the contact information of a travel agency that can assist you for a fee.
Program Directors
The Institute on Chinese Law and Business is directed by Professors Robert H. Hu and Vincent R. Johnson.
Robert H. Hu, LL.M., Ph.D.
Robert H. Hu, LL.M., Ph.D.
St. Mary’s University School of Law
Professor Hu is a professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law. A member of the American Law Institute, he teaches Advanced Legal Research, and Trademark Law courses and has published books and articles on Chinese intellectual property law and legal research. Professor Hu was born and educated in China. He received a law degree from Beijing University. He was a Fulbright Scholar from 1986-1987.
Vincent R. Johnson, J.D., LL.M.
Vincent R. Johnson, J.D., LL.M., LL.D.
St. Mary’s University School of Law
Professor Johnson has been a Fellow at the U.S. Supreme Court and a Fulbright Scholar in China, Romania and Burma. He has also taught in the United Kingdom, Austria, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Mongolia, Serbia and Moldova. Johnson was a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame and George Washington University. His books on tort law have been used as assigned reading at more than 40 American law schools, and his articles have been cited in more than 200 law reviews and 37 state and federal court decisions.
Faculty
Chenglin Liu, LL.B., LL.M., J.S.D.
Chenglin Liu, LL.B., LL.M., J.S.D.
St. Mary’s University School of Law
Professor Liu specializes in law and economics, American tort law, European Union law and Chinese law. He is the author of the book Chinese Law on SARS and articles in the Stanford International Law Journal and the Cornell International Law Journal. His article on “socialized liability” under Chinese tort law will be published in the Harvard International Law Journal.
Xinqiang Sun, Ph.D.
Xinqiang Sun, Ph.D. Beihang University School of Law
Professor Sun has served as associate dean for Foreign Affairs and the director of the Center for the Study of Comparative Law at Beihang University. He has written and translated several books and critical essays on law and has been a Fulbright Scholar in the United States and a visiting scholar at universities in China and abroad.
Ping Jia, Ph.D. candidate
Ping Jia, Ph.D. candidate
CEO, Health Governance Initiative
Professor Jia is a leading lawyer and researcher on public health, bioethics and law in China. Since 2009, he has been a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (Davos). He has written extensively on law, public policy, social affairs, health, human rights, HIV/AIDS, nongovernmental organizations, international trade and drug policy in China.