A Happy Reunion: Inauguration of the CityU Chinese Judges Alumni Association, Huanan Subassociation

12 July 2013
-Agnes Kwok

Group photo at the Inauguration Ceremony of the CityU Chinese Judges Alumni Association, Huanan Sub-association

The Inauguration Ceremony of the CityU Chinese Judges Alumni Association, Huanan Sub-association was successfully held on 6 July 2013. It is the first formal activity since active preparations of the alumni association were underway in January 2013.

The ceremony was held in Zhuhai Intermediate People’s Court Building and hosted by Dr. Guan Wenwei, Assistant Professor at CityU School of Law. As the ceremony commenced, student of the 1st cohort of Doctor of Juridical Science (Chinese Judges) and President of Zhuhai Doumen District Court, Judge Xu Suping reported on the present scenario of Huanan Sub-association on behalf of the preparation committee. All Chinese judges who have previously joined the Advanced Programme for Chinese Senior Judges, Doctor of Juridical Science (Chinese Judges) programme, and the Master of Laws programme are lifelong members of the Chinese Judges Alumni Association. The Chinese Judges Alumni Association is organizing the sub-associations based on geographic distribution of the alumni, with the purpose of strengthening the bond among judges alumni in different provinces, and establishing a platform for communication between the judges alumni and their alma mater. Up to the present, the membership of the Huanan sub-association is totaled at 63, with judges coming from the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan.

Dr. Chen Lei, Assistant Professor at CityU School of Law then announced the organizational structure of the Huanan Sub-association. The President of the sub-association is Judge Huang Zhijian, student of the 1st cohort of Doctor of Juridical Science (Chinese Judges) programme and Vice President of Zhuhai Intermediate People’s Court; the posts of consultants, vice presidents, secretary-generals and deputy secretary-generals were also announced and confirmed.

Upon confirmation of posts of the Huanan sub-association, Judge Huang and alumni representatives from the four provinces took turns to speak. They thanked CityU for providing training to Chinese judges in the past five years, which enriched their thinking, built a theoretical foundation for their judicial enforcement, and linked together Eastern and Western schools of thought. Chinese judges of different ages and levels benefited from these programmes. They hoped that the setup of the alumni association can further facilitate the exchange among judges alumni, foster friendships, and sustain the impact of this highly professional initiative of CityU.

Dean Wang Guiguo said at the ceremony that the Huanan sub-association is the first to kick-off in the CityU Chinese Judges Alumni Association, and a lot of effort has been taken in the preparation work; he would like to express heartfelt thanks to the preparation group. He was also glad to see that CityU’s Chinese Judges initiative has won the generous support of the National Judges College and the mainland institutions, and he hoped that the Chinese Judges Alumni Association can provide a platform for Chinese Judges to interact and deepen their friendships. Dean Wang trusted that the outstanding Chinese judges alumni will be able to achieve even more in the future.

After the ceremony, Dean Wang Guiguo and Prof. He Xin delivered two academic seminars on “Globalization and Judges” and “The Internal Contradictions of Judicial Mediation” respectively. A lively Q & A session followed and the Chinese judges were actively engaged in the discussion. After luncheon, the judges alumni toured around Zhuhai, picked and tasted sweet lychees and attended a dinner banquet, marking the end of the long-awaited gathering.

Prof. He Xin speaks on “The Internal Contradictions of Judicial Mediation”