Stanley Lubman

Lawyers’ New Party Loyalty Oath: A Sign of Weakness

Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2012

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to tighten its grasp on the legal profession with Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announcing that every new Chinese lawyer must now swear an oath of allegiance to the party. The oath is yet another ominous step in a continuing campaign in recent years to restrain lawyers from representing clients seen as challenging Party rule.

China’s Criminal Procedure Law: Good, Bad and Ugly

Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2012

One draft of the amendment to the Law had provided that the police could hold suspects incommunicado and in secret locations. The provision was later omitted after a considerable amount of public debate that was marked by strong criticism by human rights activists and legal experts.

Criminal Law Reform: Some Steps Forward, How Many Back?

Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, March 6, 2012

Welcome revisions include the requirement of judicial supervision of compulsory psychiatric treatment for criminal suspects, the introduction of pretrial hearings and plea bargaining, and the exclusion of evidence obtained by illegal means. Controversial provisions include one that would permit the police to confine suspects under “residential surveillance” at places other than their residences for as long as six months in cases involving “state security” or “terrorism” without notice to their families.

China’s State Capitalism: the Real World Implications

Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, March 1, 2012

The need to better understand China’s system goes beyond abstract arguments about the future of the global economy. The continuing expansion of the state sector of China’s economy limits the private sector and favors state-owned enterprises (SOEs) over foreign companies in some domestic markets. As SOEs extend their investments abroad, nations in which China seeks to invest need to become more aware of frequent links between state ownership and state control.

Stanley Lubman Downplays Impact of China’s Criminal Law Reform

The Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2012 by Stanley Lubman
http://on.wsj.com/y2fQU0

How the new law operates will depend on the mindset of participants in the Chinese “political-legal system” who will be required to put the law into practice…. An illuminating new piece of research demonstrates that it will take more than revising laws on paper to raise the level of legality of China’s criminal justice given the value system that underpins it.

Stanley Lubman Critiques China’s Response to Wukan Protests

The Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2011 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/12/23/chinas-wukan-protest-will-rights-awareness-spread/?KEYWORDS=Berkeley

The question now is whether the central government will address the root causes of the protests by implementing long-postponed legislation on rural land seizures and cracking down on corruption. For the Communist Party, the risks of inaction are clear. The protests signify an expression of rising rights consciousness among citizens that could grow in other towns.

Stanley Lubman Examines China’s Good Samaritan Debate

The Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2011 by Stanley Lubman
http://on.wsj.com/s9P1au

Why do some accident victims in China demand damages from their rescuers? Would a law change this behavior? These are questions that confront some Chinese who have begun to debate whether the role of the Good Samaritan should be introduced into China’s changing society.