The International Seminar on “Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind and the International Rule of Law”, as a part of a series of activities organized in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of CASS Institute of International Law, was held in Beijing on October 30-31, 2019. The seminar was one of the important activities of the China Social Sciences Forum and the Forum of Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind and the International Rule of Law in 2019. It was sponsored by CASS, organized by CASS Institute of International Law, and co-organized by Beijing Yingke Law Firm, Legal Application Bureau of China Democracy and Law Press, and Social Sciences Academic Press (China) and attended by over 120 experts and scholars from the UN, the WTO, and over 20 countries and regions, including China, US, UK, France, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Hungary, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, and Ethiopia.

At the opening ceremony, presided over by Professor Chen Guoping, Secretary of the Joint Committee of the CPC of CASS Institute of Law and CASS Institute of International Law, opening remarks were given by the following persons: 1. Prof. GAO Peiyong, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; 2. Mr. XU Anbiao, Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Commission, Standing Committee of National People’s Congress; 3. Judge YANG Wanming, Vice President of Supreme People’s Court; 4. Judge ZHANG Yuejiao, Former President of Appellate Body of WTO; 5. Mr. HUANG Huikang, Member of UN International Law Commission; 6. Prof. HUANG Jin, Vice President of the China Law Society, President of China Society of International Law; 7. Prof. SUNG Nak In, Former President of Seoul National University of Korea; 8. Ms DU Yaling, Director of Bureau of International Cooperation, Ministry of Justice; 9. Mr. MEI Xiangrong, Director of Beijing Yingke Law Firm; 10. Prof. LIU Nanlai, Honorable Academic Member, CASS; 11. Prof. CHEN Su, Director of Institute of Law, CASS; and 12. Prof. MO Jihong, Director of Institute of International Law, CASS.

At the first plenary session, presided over by Professor Mo Jihong, Director of CASS Institute of International Law, the following keynote speeches were given: 1. “Practice of International Rule of Law during the Past 70 Years in the People’s Republic of China”, by Prof. HUANG Jin, Vice President of the China Law Society, President of China Society of International Law; 2. “Multilateralism and the Sustainable Development Agenda”, by Ms. Anna JOUBIN-BRET, Secretary General, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law; 3. “The Contributions of the HCCH to Effective Multilateralism”, by Mr. Christophe BERNASCONI, Secretary General, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH); and 4. “Community of Shared Future for Mankind: National and International Rule of Law”, by Prof. CHEN Zexian, Former Director of Institute of International Law, CASS.

In the parallel sessions that followed, the participants gave presentations and carried out discussions on such topics as Theories of Modern International Law, Belt and Road Development, Development of Private Int’l Law, Latest Development of Human Rights Law, Int’l Economic and Trade Cooperation, Individual in Int’l Law, Law of the Sea and the Space, Settlement of Int’l Commercial Disputes, Supervision and Development, Sustainable Development, International Dispute Settlement, and International Trade Disputes.

In the Second Plenary Session, held on October 31 and presided over by Professor Liao Fan, Head of the Office of Research Administration and International Cooperation, CASS Institute of International Law, the following keynote speeches were given: 1. “Implementation of Human Rights Norms”, by Prof. SUNG Nak In, Former President, Professor Emeritus of Seoul National University; 2. “Global Aviation Governance and New Development of International Aviation Law”, by Prof. WANG Han, Vice President of China Society of Private International Law, Northwest University of Political Science and Law; 3. “Climate Change, Resilience Building, and Global Governance in the Horn of Africa”, by Dr. Ali Issa ABDI, Managing Director, the Horn Economic and Social Policy Institute; 4. “Building Legal Framework for a Closer China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in Defense of Globalization”, by Prof. ZHU Weidong, Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, CASS; and 5. “Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind and International Law”, by Prof. SUN Shiyan, Head of the Department of International Human Rights Law, Institute of International Law, CASS.

At the closing ceremony, presided over by Prof. LIU Huawen, Deputy Director of Institute of International Law, CASS, closing remarks were given by Prof. CHE Pizhao, Law School of Tsinghua University; Prof. Rainer KULMS, Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law; and Prof. MO Jihong, Director, Institute of International Law, CASS.