Sharing legal knowledge

The China Law Society is coordinating Chinese and African law schools to set up joint legal research centers and training bases in Africa. In January, the School of Legal Studies of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies paired up with Strathmore Law School in Nairobi to found a joint legal research center and training base in Nairobi. Gu said there would be similar pairings in Cameroon, South Africa and Tanzania.

“China has more trade and investment relations with foreign countries. Legal cooperation is therefore necessary to provide coordination among different legal systems and policies to smooth, promote and safeguard economic cooperation,” he said.

The rapid change in the international market has also made such cooperation imperative. “The existing legal frameworks or conventions may not be in tandem with the trends,” Gu explained. “A lot of African countries were not independent when some legal treaties and frameworks were drafted. [So] in these frameworks the interests of developing countries might not be well protected. It is very important that legal professionals of these developing countries join together to promote and safeguard our own development interests.” Comments to sarkarbjreview@outlook.com