Time: 9:00am - 12:00pm Venue: Collette Bowe and Martin Harris Room, Queen’s Building, 327 Mile End Rd, London E1 4NS
This event is organised by the Centre for Law and Society in Global Context (CLSGC) and the Jean Monnet Network EU-China Legal and Judicial Cooperation (EUPLANT). It is coordinated by Dr Matthieu Burnay, Lecturer in Global Law at Queen Mary University of London and Visiting Professor at Beijing Normal University.
The global commons that include those natural assets situated outside national jurisdiction constitute ‘laboratories for innovative forms of global governance and international law making’ (Schrijver 2016). In fact, legal regimes governing global commons constantly evolve in line with the identification of new transnational and global problems, the development of innovative scientific discoveries, and changes in the global geopolitical context (Joyner 2005). In strong contrast with other areas of global governance, global commons still remain to a large extent unregulated and hence provide an avenue for a multiplicity of stakeholders (i.e. International Organisations, civil society, and emerging powers) to shape the development of international law. The objective of this workshop is to analyse how and why China influences the making of regulatory frameworks governing the internet, space activities, and the fight against climate change. The workshop will seek not only to highlight common patterns in China’s engagement with the global commons and assess how China’s contribution enhances/impedes the preservation and fair allocation of resources at the global level. It also tries to understand if China’s engagement is – by and large – to be seen as a form of contestation of existing global governance structure, or rather a contribution thereto. In this regard the workshop will focus on China as a ‘norm-taker’, ‘norm-maker’ or ‘norm-shaker’ of global governance. With the former two clearly linked to China’s constructive role as a complying actor and norm developer, the latter sees China’s role as a critical actor, contesting existing structures and regimes.
8.30-9.00: Registration 9.00-10.20: Panel 1
Chair: Professor Malgosia Fitzmaurice (Queen Mary University of London)
Discussants: Dr Kolja Raube (University of Leuven) and Ms Harriet Moynihan (Chatham House)
‘China and the Global Commons: Localisation of Transnational Legal Orders’Dr Matthieu Burnay (Queen Mary University of London)
‘China's Policy and Rule-Making Activities on Outer Space Governance: A Global Commons Perspective’Professor Li Bin (Beijing Normal University)
10.40-12.00: Panel 2
‘Internet (Domain Names) Regulation: China as Rule Breaker (-Shaper)’Professor Julien Chaisse (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
‘China’s Critical Engagement with Global Climate Regulatory Institutions: A Comparative Study of the NDC Rulebook Negotiations and the Reform of Global Climate Finance’Dr Coraline Goron (Oxford University)