New book by Dr Jing Hui: The Governance of Chinese Charitable Trusts (Cambridge University Press)

The Governance of Chinese Charitable Trusts

Hui Jing

Cambridge University Press

Published on 7 September 2023

350 pp.

Overview: Legislators in China introduced the charitable trust model in 2016 with the passage of the Chinese Charity Law. They constructed a new legal framework for this model, in order to unlock the potential of trust institutions to further and develop charitable causes. This is the first English-language monograph exploring the governance of Chinese charitable trusts from the perspective of law and sociology. Through the application of doctrinal analysis and semi-structured qualitative interviews, this book reveals that China's particular political, social, and economic conditions are essential to understanding the legislated governance framework for charitable trusts and its implementation in practice. Embedded in China's unique institutional context, the governance of Chinese charitable trusts can only be fully understood in light of relevant law, administrative practice, and private actions taken by charitable trust parties.

Hui Jing on Political Influence in the Regulation of Chinese Charitable Trusts (Canadian Journal of Law and Society)

"Political Influence in the Regulation of Chinese Charitable Trusts"
Hui Jing
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société

Published online on 26 January 2023

Abstract: With the 2016 Charity Law, Chinese legislators created a public-private hybrid model for the governance of charitable trusts. By endowing private actors with greater rights in the creation and management of charitable trusts, this hybrid model demonstrates the State’s intention of changing the functioning of the charitable trust sector from complete dependence on the State to a partnership. However, embedded in China’s particular institutional environment, the partnership relationship still bears the mark of strict government control, which is secured by granting extensive powers to regulators. This article analyzes the newly established regulatory framework for charitable trusts and outlines how regulators exercise their power in practice. The findings show that the tradition of regulators being subject to intense administrative pressures remains unchanged and that political concerns permeate every aspect of the regulation of charitable trusts.

Hui Jing on Risk Allocation: The Contractual Practice of Chinese Charitable Trusts (Chinese J of Comp L)

"Risk Allocation: The Contractual Practice of Chinese Charitable Trusts"
Hui Jing
The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law
Published on 6 May 2022

Abstract: In 2016, the Charity Law of the People’s Republic of China (Charity Law) introduced the charitable trust into the Chinese domestic system, with a view to releasing the potential of trusts to promote charitable activities. Drawing upon the failure of public welfare trusts, the new charity law designates special regulators for charitable trusts and endows settlors with extensive powers in the utilization of the charitable trust device. However, the new law on charitable trusts is vague and incomplete in numerous respects. Because of the vagueness of the law, public supervision, and regulatory scrutiny, trust parties might perceive risks in the creation and management of charitable trusts, and such perceptions may in turn motivate trust parties to use contractual tools to allocate such risks among themselves. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews and the study of real-world charitable trust contracts, this article offers a comprehensive analysis of the role of contracts in the regulation of charitable trusts. It explores the main uses of contracts in the field of charitable trusts and the reasons leading to such uses; it also aims to better understand how the scope and function of the legislative framework for charitable trusts is shaped by contractual arrangements between trust parties.

John Liu on Jury Trial And Public Trust in The Judiciary (APLR)

"Jury Trial And Public Trust In The Judiciary: Evidence From Cross-countries Comparison"

John Zhuang Liu & Lei Chen

Asia Pacific Law Review

Published Online: 2021-9-14

Abstract: The jury is an institution that has evoked praise and criticism throughout its history. Recently, it has also triggered debate in many countries as they reform their judicial processes. Gathering data on 111 countries from various sources to analyse the jury as part of the judicial system, we find that public trust in the judiciary is higher in countries with jury trials than in countries without them. Countries that conduct jury trials also tend to have stronger judicial constraints on other sources of governmental power and better-performing criminal adjudication systems. These analyses reveal correlation rather than causation, but they are helpful for challenging conventional wisdom and for better understanding the function of the jury system. The seemingly paradoxical patterns that are identified — namely, that the jury, designed to constrain the judiciary, ends up correlated with stronger judicial power, and that laypeople, supposedly less proficient than professionals in deciding cases, are in fact positively associated with judicial performance — suggest an internal connection between the jury as a judicial body and as a political institution.