The department of law of Tianjin University (Beiyang University at that time) was established in 1895. The department provided the earliest legal courses in China and therefore was the embryo of Chinese modern legal education. Our distinguished alumni include: ZHANG Tailei (one of the early leaders of the CCP), WANG Chonghui (highly esteemed jurist), WANG Zhengting, XU Mo, GUO Yunguan, YAN Shutang, WU Jingxiong, ZHAO Tianlin, etc. In 1920, the Beiyang government ordered Beiyang University to focus on engineering science and the department of law was merged into Peking University. There was not legal education and research at Tianjin University until 1994, when it began to provide courses for students whose major is economic law. In 1997, the department of law was re-established at Tianjin University and it became the faculty of law on 17 June 2015, which was an important moment in our history.
Since 2015, we have acquired research funding from over 60 projects supported by different ministries and provincial governments. The faculty has undertaken three key projects supported by National Social Science Foundation, one finished, and the other two on the way. We have acquired several high-level awards such as Tianjin excellent social science research outcome. Our consulting reports have been read, replied, and referred to by high-level officials such as the vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Ms. SHEN Yueyue, the procurator general of the Supreme Procuratorate Mr. CAO Jianming, the vice president of China Law Society Mr. CHEN Jiping, etc. The faculty has organized more than 20 national-level academic conferences, raising the attention of the academia across the nation, and mainstream media (such as CCTV, People.cn) as well.
The faculty has 57 employees, 35 with doctorate degree and 16 qualified to guide PhD students or Master students. We have legal education for Bachelor and Master students. Our main Master programs include economic law, civil and commercial law, international law, intellectual property law, environmental law and criminal law. We have around 300 students at school, respectively 200 Bachelor students and 100 Master students.
The faculty has excellent environment for education and research. Several prestigious research institutes are also based in our faculty, such as Supreme Court’s judicial expertise for environmental damage, Chinese Research Institute for Green Development and other institutes supported by high-level governmental organs. We also provide secretariat service for Judicial Action Research Association of China Behavioral Law Society, and the Environmental Law Section of Tianjin Law Society. Moreover, the faculty has research centers for XI Jinping’s legal thought, criminal law, technology law, financial law, intellectual property law, foreign law and comparative law, legal aid, and the CCP regulation. The faculty has a cooperative relationship with Harvard University, Rice University, Sydney University and other famous institutes. Our moot court is very well equipped and our library has a large collection of literature in Chinese and other languages.
We plan to make our faculty ‘with high quality, into the mainstream, with our own characteristics, and international’. Our faculty motto is ‘to worship law and moral, and to serve the public’. We pay attention to the quality of our education. The faculty attaches importance to inter-disciplinary education and research, and we make our efforts to equip our students with initiative and compound expertise. Our goal is to promote both patriotism and international horizon among our students.
