About SISU Law

SISU Law was established in 1994 and it was the first of its kind to launch a comprehensive program to cultivate foreign-related legal professionals at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The graduates are capable of using multiple languages proficiently and dealing with legal affairs with great expertise. On a national level, SISU Law was also the first to have the JM program and candidates of this program have strong multilingual backgrounds. In 2012, SISU Law was selected and authorized by the Municipality of Shanghai as the base for cultivating foreign-related legal professionals. SISU Law has degree programs for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. These programs have distinctive features in that it has as its foundation the legal disciplines and take full advantage of the disciplinary features in foreign language teaching and research at SISU. The geographical advantage of Shanghai as a coastal city contributes to the process of producing future legal professionals with an international horizon, the ability to conduct cross-cultural communication. These graduates will be equipped with as a strong foundation in legal knowledge and skills, a high level of proficiency in multiple foreign languages. They will assume important positions in dealing with foreign related and international legal affairs. SISU Law graduates have always been lauded as all-round legal professionals with great work ethics, broad visions as well as strong expertise and multilingual proficiency.

SISU Law has a strong and experienced faculty team. 16 faculty members has associate professorial or professorial titles. There are 3 guest professors in charge of legal practice and they are entitled to the ‘double thousand’ talent program by the Chinese Ministry of Education. Two teachers were awarded ‘Teacher of the Year’ by Bao Steel Corporation and Three teachers were awarded ‘Talent Cultivation Professional’ by the Municipality of Shanghai. The majority of teachers have acquired Doctoral degrees so they have been well-schooled in theories, experienced in pedagogical practices and capable of conducting teaching and research in bilingual environments. Altogether there are 6 working foreign languages used the faculty members. SISU Law teachers have had visiting or degree programs in institutions overseas- University of Cambridge, Harvard University, University of Columbia, University of California at Berkeley, Paris Institute of Political Studies, Münster University (Germany), University of Bern (Switzerland) and Kobe University (Japan). Department of English boasts of a strong faculty group and it is fully capable of cultivating students with professional standards and well-used pedagogical modes in terms of language learning and teaching. Students at SISU Law acquires upon graduation a BA degree in law and a secondary degree in English while they pass the National Band 8 Exam for English proficiency as a test of English majors. 

SISU Law is well equipped with various functional teaching facilities. We have fully operating teaching buildings with Moot Court, legal clinics and legal aid centers. The School of Law has 10 multimedia classrooms and tutorials which enable students to have professional training and course practice in terms of learning resources. It also has it own on-campus library well-stocked with over 50 professional journals, ten thousand strong reference books in both Chinese and foreign languages across different disciplines, both domestic and abroad. Meanwhile, SISU Law has set up more than 20 bases for foreign-related teaching practice. These bases fully cater to and meet the students’ needs for legal practice and faculty members’ needs for pedagogical practice.

SISU Law has made great advances in international exchange and cooperation. So far, more than ten law schools overseas have established formal cooperative relations with SISU Law- Leiden University (the Netherlands), Münster University (Germany), University of Waikato (New Zealand) , University of Szeged (Hungary), Roma Tre University (Italy), Università degli Studi di Trento (Italy), Universite Cathelique de Lille (France), Washington University at St. Louis (USA), Emory University (USA), University of Montana (Canada), Kent State University (USA), Georgetown University (USA) and University of Missouri at Kansas (USA). These international cooperation programs include: Sino-French International Seminar, Sino-American College Summer Camp Law Program, and international students exchange programs, unilateral visiting students, 3+1+1 programs (candidates can acquire LLM or JD degrees upon completion of such programs). These programs have seen smooth developments on both sides.

In conducting student affairs, SISU Law has as its conviction being always at the service of students and faculties. It has been committed to building a platform for university students to develop their potentials to the fullest. Since its establishment, SISU Law has created and sustained feature student activities in which they can fully display their capabilities- Moot Court Competition, Legal Pioneers Role-Playing and Debating Contest, Shanghai Model UN Convention, Legal Awareness Cultural Festival, Jury Observation etc. These student activities have reached students and faculties far and wide across colleges in the city of Shanghai. Just to name a few, Moot Court Competition has been recognized as a feature elite program promoting legal awareness education in universities and colleges in Shanghai. Legal Pioneers Role-Playing and Debating Contest was awarded a feature program of this nature. Legal Aid Volunteers Team was awarded Shanghai May 4th Youth Medal for Model Groups. SISU Law has, for several times, been recognized as an elite work unit for social practice, especially in terms of dispatching student volunteers to villages in the summer time for promoting law and order in those places. In international competitions such as International Law Moot Court Competition, International Criminal Court Moot Court in Chinese Competition, SISU Law harvest second place prizes; in legal English Contest it was awarded 1st prize nationally; in the Internet+ University Students Entrepreneurship Competition it was awarded the silver medal, and it was given Excellence Award in Shanghai Summer Recess Social Practice, World Expo in Shanghai Volunteering services for organization power. Shanghai May 4th Banner Team for Organizational Power Award and Youth League for Distinction and Shanghai Educational Pioneer Award were also SISU Law’s glory over the years since its establishment.