The Institute of European Union Law (IEUL) was established in May 2010, and its predecessor was the EU Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) established at the end of 2002. The academic team of the IEUL is mainly composed of teachers of the College of Comparative Law who are engaged in EU law studies full-time, and visiting professors from both inside and outside the CUPL as well as abroad. The purpose of the IEUL is to strengthen the research and teaching of EU law in China and to promote exchanges, communication and cooperation with European legal scholars in the field of EU law studies, with a particular focus on cultivating legal talents who can deeply understand European integration and the theory and practice of EU law. The IEUL, as a think tank, also aims to provide the government with legal services with regard to China-Europe political and economic relations.
The IEUL is currently one of the few teaching units in China that offer a series of EU law courses for undergraduates and postgraduates. The level, type and quantity of these courses are among the best in China. Four full-time teachers set up a degree course Introduction to European Union Law, as well as elective courses for graduate students: Frontiers of EU Law,Theories and Methods of European Law Harmonization, EU Economic Law, EU Company Law, EU Contract Law, Comparative Studies of Personal Information/Data Law, and Comparative Studies of Chinese and European Trade and Investment Laws; elective courses for undergraduates: Basics of EU Law, EU Economic and Trade Law, EU Data Protection Law and Practice (international course), and Personal Information/Data Risk Compliance Review (innovation and entrepreneurship course), a total of 12 courses.
Another feature of the IEUL is to apply for important research projects in order to promote scientific research, teaching and international cooperation. From July 2006 to October 2007, the CUPL cooperated with the University of Freiburg and the University of Münster to implement the interdisciplinary 'EU-China European Studies Center Programme'. This project strengthened the cooperation between the CUPL and European universities in the field of EU law studies which laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the EU law discipline. Since July 2011, the IEUL has collaborated with European universities such as the University of Münster, Augsburg University, Humboldt University in Berlin in Germany, and Radboud University in the Netherlands to successfully apply for and execute the 'EU Jean Monnet' series of programmes (2011-2014 European Module Programme, 2015-2018 Chair Programme, 2020-2023 Chair Programme, 2023-206 European Module Programme, 2024-2027 Excellence Centre Programme). Professor Zhang Tong has been awarded the 'Jean Monnet Chair Professor' by the EU twice, which is the highest academic honor bestowed by the EU on scholars who have made outstanding achievements in teaching and research on European issues worldwide.
In recent years, the teachers of the IEUL have hosted or participated in nearly 20 projects such as the National Social Science Fund, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, Beijing Social Science and other projects, compiled and published textbooks as well as the EU Jean Monnet Programmes Series. These outcomes have produced a wide range of influences in the field of EU law studies in China.
Head: ZHANG Tong.
