Reflecting on the 18th Party Congress’s Fourth Plenum

The Fourth Plenum of the 18th Party Congress began on October 20, 2014, focusing on the rule of law. On November 3, 2014, the National Committee convened a discussion with Carl Minzner, professor at the Fordham University School of Law. In an on-the-record teleconference moderated by NCUSCR President Stephen A. Orlins, the two reflected on the Fourth Plenum and its implications for the development of China’s legal system and governance. A question and answer session followed the speakers’ remarks.

Bio:

Carl Minzner is an expert in Chinese law and governance. He has written extensively on these topics in both academic journals and the popular press, including op-eds appearing in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Christian Science Monitor. Recent academic works include “China’s Turn Against Law”, in the American Journal of Comparative Law (2011) exploring Chinese authorities’ shift against legal reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, and “The Rise and Fall of Chinese Legal Education” in the Fordham International Law Journal, examining both the expansion of Chinese legal education since the late 1990s, and its impending retrenchment.

Prior to joining Fordham, he was an associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. He previously served as Senior Counsel for the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, international affairs fellow for the Council on Foreign Relations, and Yale-China Legal Education Fellow at the Xibei Institute of Politics and Law in Xi’an.

Professor Minzner is a National Committee Public Intellectuals Program fellow.