1. Objective of the network and target groups
China and Norway both have international obligations to implement economic, social and cultural rights. Having ratified the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and a number of ILO Conventions, both countries are committed to take steps by, particularly, adopting legislative, but also other measures to achieve progressively the full realization of these rights. The network will aim at addressing the common challenges to the effective implementation of economic, social and cultural rights, primarily on the basis of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, promoting exchange on the lessons learnt from the efforts undertaken to implement such rights, and to promote good practice in relevant fields.
The research focus of the network is relevant legislative measures and the role of the judiciary in implementing such measures. The research shall describe current implementation of legislative measures, analyse challenges regarding effective implementation and explore possible solutions to the problems identified.
Target groups of the project are legislators, administrators, the judiciary and scholars in both China and Norway.
2. Project director and administration
Professor Ole Kristian Fauchald, Institutt for offentlig rett, Head of the Research Group on the Internationalization of Law at the University of Oslo Faculty of Law.
3. Activities and publication plans
- Meeting (already planned and organized) with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Law Institute, Beijing, in early May, 2009
- Establish web pages for exchange of documents and web based discussion groups
- Conference in Oslo at the end of August 2010
- Articles resulting from the Conference should be published in peer reviewed international journals. If possible, we may seek to publish Chinese translations of selected papers.
4. Academic basis for and purpose of the network
Innovation
Taking a comparative approach to the implementation of law in two such different societies, as Norway, a “rule-of-law” state or “Rechtstaat”, and in a one-Party-state, such as the People’s Republic of China (China) promotes innovative research results and increases the knowledge in the field. The research under the network should develop new theoretical approaches and methodology on the comparative study of implementation of law.
Significance for China
It is observed that China has taken substantial steps to adopt a large amount of domestic legislations and ratified international conventions in relation to human rights and rule of law. However, these legislative efforts actually can only in part serve to achieve the “full realization” of economic, social and cultural rights because of obstacles in the implementation of law. One main reason is that China is in the process of developing a political system that increasingly is based on “rule of law”. This research oriented network among Chinese and Norwegian experts aims at studying the common challenges and particular experiences, in China and in Norway, in the fields of the implementation of law relating to the economic, social and cultural rights. In the Chinese transition towards the respect for human rights and social justice, a real need exists to strengthen the development of appropriate norms and mechanisms for their implementation. Currently there are ongoing processes in China concerning development of legislation and reforms of the judiciary. One major objective of the network will be to contribute to these processes.
Contributions of the network
The potential contributions of the network, are the following:
- An essential characteristic of the Nordic welfare model is its balancing of solidarity in securing minimum benefits and on the other hand acknowledging the possibility of preserving the individual’s standard of living. Services are administered by public organs while providing the individual with enforceable rights. China is at present building its social welfare system and is searching for viable models for addressing its diverse society. The Chinese reforms can benefit from analysis of the tensions within the Norwegian system, and its advantages and disadvantages in relation to the implementation of relevant international treaties.
- Both China and Norway have ratified the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These two Conventions are of special importance in Norway because of their ‘semi-constitutional’ status under the Norwegian Human Rights Act. In Norway, the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant has received less attention than the other three human rights conventions included in the Norwegian Human Rights Act. The discussions and research on forms and consequences of the incorporation of international treaties including economic, social and cultural rights in domestic law is valuable to the ongoing legal and judicial development in both Norway and China.
- Norway has a long research tradition on the economic, social and cultural rights of the Saami indigenous people in Norway. The Norwegian legal and political developments show a shift from assimilation to respect for their distinct culture and traditions. Research on the consequences of this shift and the political and legal challenges that Norway meet in implementing the economic, social and cultural rights of these groups and individuals is of importance to the legislative and institutional developments which are necessary for the implementation of these rights to the more than 100 million persons belonging to China’s numerous minority groups and in minority areas.
- The implementation of the right of self-determination in the economic, social and cultural sense vis-à-vis the exploration of natural resources in minority or indigenous areas is an important problem both in Norway and in China. Research searching for legislative and institutional solutions to the economic, social and cultural challenges facing both countries relating to the development and implementation of the right to self-determination and natural resource- and environmental law would inform on-going legal and political processes in the two countries.
- The Law Faculty has through research cooperation with China developed standards for the protection of the rights of linguistic minorities. Research on and further development of these standards in relation to the protection of the economic, social and cultural rights of linguistic minorities would benefit legal and institutional developments in both countries.
- Social welfare law has a long tradition at the Law Faculty. Norway has a strong legal tradition in this field. The distinction used in China between metropolitan and rural areas concerning social rights was used in Norway until the first half of the 1900s. The problems relating to the lack of social welfare for migrant workers and farmers, including persons belonging to ethnic minorities, is becoming a major problem to social stability in the Chinese society.
- A special focus in labour law should be on equal opportunity to gain ones living, the protection of workers’ health, the employers’ obligation to provide a secure working environment and the responsibility of national supervisory organs to ensure appropriate social conditions in accordance with the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and relevant ILO Conventions.
- Norway has a strong academic environment in the rights of the child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) would be the basis for comparative research in this field with regard to the implementation of the CRC in Norway and China. Topics can include the legal protection of the child against neglect and abuse in the family, the “best interests” concept, the autonomy of the child, and the refugee child, as well as the child’s right to health, education and a standard of living.
- There is important research in Norway on the rights of persons with disabilities, an issue that is closely linked to non-discrimination. Norway has recently implemented new legislation in this field. While China has already ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Norway has not yet finalized its ratification process. Topics can include implementation of provisions of this Convention, as well as issues concerning non-discrimination of persons with disabilities.
Among more general contributions of the network, we would emphasize the following:
- The network can contribute to our understanding of why states ratify human rights treaties and the subsequent processes generated by such ratifications.
- The network can contribute to new theoretical approaches and methodology on the comparative study of implementation of law in such diverse societies as China and Norway.
5. Planned research projects
The network should lead to bilateral contacts between researchers working on relevant projects with a view to establishing a basis for meaningful comparative studies of Norway and China. The following research projects are planned to be initiated as part of the network:
- Implementation of the CRC (Chinese partner: CASS Law Institute)
- Social welfare law (Chinese partner: CASS Law Institute)
- Non-discrimination and the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights (Chinese partner: Law School of Beijing University)
- Implementation of economic, social and cultural rights in relation to indigenous peoples (Chinese partners: Central University of Nationalities and CASS Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology)
- Minority language use and the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights (Chinese partners: CASS Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology and the CASS Institute of World Religions)
- Development of theoretical approaches and methodology on the comparative study of implementation of law (Chinese partner: CASS Law Institute)
Further discussions on projects to be included in the network will take place during the planning meeting primarily with CASS Law Institute, and possibly also with other project partners in May 2009.
6. Current research projects that may be included in the network
The Department of Public and International Law has an ongoing project on the rights of the child, funded by ‘Velferdsprogrammet’ in the Norwegian Research Council and headed by Kirsten Sandberg. The project includes a comparative study of children’s right to be heard according to the CRC, which could be extended to include China.
Two programs at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) have carried out legal research and education in relation to China, i.e. the China Program and China Autonomy Program. Activities organized under these programs have created a basis for the development of further networks between the legal research communities in China and Norway. Researchers at NCHR published their research results in prestige Chinese legal academic publishing houses (such as Law Press China). The CAP has currently funding only to the end of March 2009, while the China Program is based on a framework agreement between the NCHR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Faculty of Law is currently involved in the preparation of a research project entitled “Should states ratify Human Rights Conventions?” funded by the Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (2009-10), and directed by professor Andreas Føllesdal and professor Geir Ulfstein. This project focuses on the ratification and implementation of human rights conventions, and normative implications, including democratic aspects. There are concrete plans to include China as one of the case studies, building upon the long-standing cooperation between the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and the CASS.
The project “From formal to real rights: Minority women’s protection from discrimination in a culturally complex, socially unequal and transnational context”, funded by the Norwegian Research Council, is currently running at the Department of Public Law. Knowledge from this project may be valuable in the cooperation with China.
7. Invited researchers and institutions
The Law Institute, the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology, CASS (Beijing)
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is the top national research institution on humanities and social sciences in China. These CASS institutes have strong research teams and serve important advisory functions for the Chinese government’s policy and law making. Since 1997, guest researchers from the CASS institutes have been invited on an ad hoc basis to the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, either as guest lecturers or to participate in specific conferences. The proposed fields under the network are among the main concerns and research interests of CASS researchers.
The Law School of Beijing University
Beijing University is among the leading universities in China. Its researchers have for a long time been involved in human rights research and education. Ole Kristian Fauchald was a guest researcher at the Law School in 2007-8 and Maria Lundberg has taught in their program on international human rights law. Professor Bai Guimei (international human rights law) is invited to participate in the network.
The Central University of Nationalities (CUN) in Beijing
CUN is the top educational and research institution in China for minority studies. Ethnic law and minority rights have been among the key topics of CUN. The former Dean of the Faculty of Law, Jon T. Johnsen, and the former Director of NCHR, Geir Ulfstein, visited and lectured there. Maria Lundberg has been invited as a guest professor there to strengthen the minority rights and ethnic law education by the Rector of CUN. Two research centers, the Ethnic Minority Study Center of China and the Ethnic Law Research Centre are invited to be part of the network.
8. Participating researchers at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo
The following have indicated an intention to participate in the network:
- Welfare law: professor Asbjørn Kjønstad and professor Aslak Syse
- Rights of the child: professor Kirsten Sandberg
- Labour law: professor Henning Jakhelln and senior researcher Helga Aune
- Natural resources and environmental issues: professor Ole Kristian Fauchald and professor Kirsti Strøm Bull
- Non-discrimination legislation and rights of people with disabilities: professor Aslak Syse and senior researcher Helga Aune
- Minority issues: associate professor Maria Lundberg, senior researcher Koenraad Wellens and researcher Zhou Yong
- General issues concerning implementation of human rights obligations: professor Geir Ulfstein and professor Andreas Føllesdal