The College of Comparative Law of the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) was founded on 15 October, 2009 by integrating the Institute of Comparative Law (since 1985), the School of Sino-German Law (since 2002), the School of Sino-American Law (since 2002) and the Editorial Office of the Journal of Comparative Law (since 1987). It later successively set up the Institute of European Law, the Institute for Laws of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Regions, the Institute of Sino-Italian Law and Roman Law, the China-Japan Law Institute and the China-Russia Law Institute.

The College was the first to own Comparative Law as a grade-2 subject that enters in the records of the Ministry of Education of China. It is a specialised teaching and research institution focusing on both personnel training and scientific research with China's leading teaching and research faculty.

The College is the secretariat of the China Comparative Law Society, the Beijing Comparative Law Society and the Asia Academy of Comparative Law as well as the Foreign Law Ascertainment and Research Centre co-established by CUPL and the Supreme People's Court of P.R.C, and the China-Europe Legal Research Centre and the China-Europe Legal Training Base co-established by CUPL and the China Law Society.

The institute has 7 non-established research institutes, including the Centre for China-Europe/EU Legal Studies of CUPL, the Health Law Research Centre of CUPL, the Centre for Government Procurement Legal Studies of CUPL, the AI Law Research Centre of CUPL, the Research Centre for the Rule of Law on Territorial Space and Urban Construction, the Centre for International Banking Legal and Practice Studies of CUPL and the Centre for Government Procurement Legal Studies of CUPL. 

The faculty comprises 42 members, including 31 academic staff, all of which hold doctoral degrees and 17 obtained their degrees from overseas leading universities, making up 54.84% of the total. The academic staff is proficient in world's major languages, including English, German, Italian, Russian, French, Japanese and Spanish.

The College focuses on the comparison between domestic and foreign laws, setting up a research platform with an emphasis on cross-law systems, including continental law, common law and other representative legal systems, and regional laws. It strives for reaching an advanced level in the world while securing its leading place within China, so as to play a role of a window and a think tank for the Chinese government and enterprises to get an insight into foreign legal system in the process of globalisation and a pace-setter for CUPL to achieve its goal of excellence in openness, internationalisation, multi-disciplines and innovation.

The College globally enrolls students of postgraduate, doctorate and post-doctorate and cultivates internationalised and all-round personnel in legal profession with dignity, proper behaviour, knowledge of both Chinese and foreign laws, sophistication in at least one foreign language, ability of independent international exchange and innovation. To meet this target, the teaching of the College adopts bilingual or pure foreign languages including German, English, Russian, Italian, Spanish, French and Japanese.

The College of Comparative Law orients itself to promoting the exchange in domestic and foreign laws, cultures and values, actively implements the nation's strategic plan of ‘going to the outside world’ in social sciences, widely spreads China's legal culture, conducts exchanges with foreign countries and regions in various levels and forms, gradually builds itself up as a world-class legal expert training centre through a well-planned strategy. So far, the College has established official cooperation with over twenty universities and institutions from foreign countries and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions as well. Together, the faculty and the students will continue to develop its reputation as a world-class hub for the training of professionals, scientific research and international legal and cultural exchange in comparative law.