Second meeting of the study group on German and Chinese law (May 22nd, 2007)

The second session of the study group on German and Chinese law took place on the 22nd of May, 2007. We had planned a discussion about the topic "Legal education - Bachelor/Master degrees".

First, the students Lin Jing and Yang Yiying of the Chinese University for Political Sciences and Law (CUPL) Beijing gave a presentation on the Bachelor/Master system in China.

Subsequently, Henricke Hepprich, a member of the departmental student comittee, and Nicolas Glinka, editor of the online-magazine "Freilaw", explained the current model, as well as, the plans of the ministry of justice regarding Bachelor/Master instruction in Baden-Württemberg.

Finally, we were pleased to welcome Mr. Prof. Dr. Deguchi from Japan, who gave an account of the situation in his country. In his view, legal instruction in Japan is increasingly modeled after the American system.

In the course of the discussion Mr. Prof. Dr. Merkt also got involved, presenting the viewpoint of most German professors on the issue at hand: based on several weighty arguments, the introduction of the Bachelor/Master system is adamantly opposed in Germany.

All in all, the evening allowed a discussion of students and professors from different countries that was decidedly out of the ordinary.