EU Rule of Law Promotion Abroad and Its cooperation with China in the Context of International ...

298 Pages·2014·2.38 MB·English

EU Rule of Law Promotion Abroad and Its cooperation with
China in the Context of International Rule of Law

by

ZHANG Jiao

Doctor of Philosophy in Law

2014

Faculty of Law
University of Macau

EU Rule of Law Promotion Abroad and Its cooperation with
China in the Context of International Rule of Law

by

ZHANG, Jiao

SUPERVISOR: ZENG, Lingliang

Doctor of Philosophy in Law

2014

Faculty of Law

University of Macau

Author’s right 2014 by
ZHANG, Jiao

Acknowledgements

During the process of writing this thesis, I received support, intellectually, morally
and personally, from a number of persons as well as various institutes. I feel how
inadequate these few words will be to express my gratitude. I would like to thank
each of you individually but it is impossible to do so here. There are, however, a few
people I must mention.

For stimulating, encouraging and awakening my interest in the EU-China relations
and the international rule of law, I would like to thank my supervisor: Professor Zeng
Lingliang. The thesis was stimulated by an article written by Professor Zeng – ‘The
Chinese Practice of International Rule of Law: Great Progress in the Past Thirty
Years and Growing Challenges ahead’ – which I ‘accidentally’ translated at the
request of Centre for Law Studies at the University of Macau. The many discussions
with Professor Zeng on law and legal scholarship were invaluable to me during my
first excursions into the field of academic. His attitudes towards life and learning set
me a model of active, optimistic, and academic rigour.

I owe special gratitude to Professor Paulo Canelas de Castro, who first taught me the
EU law, accepted me as his research assistant and integrated me into his research
team six years ago when I was a master student. He provided invaluable academic
advices, exchange opportunities, and personal encouragement throughout my six-
year study at the University of Macau. His generous support made many of my
achievements possible. I greatly cherish the days working together with him.

I also wish to express my special gratitude to Professor Cheng Weidong, for his
encouragement and inspiration throughout the preparation of the thesis. He, together
with Dr. Ye Bin, helped me to improve and insist on my points, especially in the
conceptual phase of the thesis when some doubted the feasibility of a Ph.D. thesis to
handle issues concerning the ‘rule of law’.

Among the scholars from whom I have learned most about the external relations law
of the EU, the EU-China relations, and the concept of the rule of law, I am also
deeply grateful to: Professor Chabenet Didier who graciously acted as my host
during my first visit to the European University Institute; Professor Jónatas Machado,
Professor João Loureiro, and Professor Benedita Urbano with whom I have had
invaluable inspiring discussions during my visit to the University of Coimbra; and
Professor Francis Snyder who provided memorable lectures and generous advices on
many occasions.

Special thanks also go to the University of Macau, in particular the Faculty of Law,
for providing me with the necessary support to successfully complete my Ph.D. study.
I am grateful to professors at the Faculty of Law for their generous encouragements
and advices, especially to Professor Mo Shijian for his generosity with which he
chose to share his insights and knowledge with young academics and students;
Professor Liu Gaolong and Professor Wei Dan who accepted to be the members of
the thesis supervision committee; Professor Fan Jianhong, Professor Rostam J.
Neuwirth, Professor Sten Verhoeven and Professor Tu Guangjian with whom I have
had interesting and valuable discussions on both academic and life issues. I owe
i
special thanks to the thesis defense committee, composed of Vice-Rector Haydn H.
D. Chen, Professor Zeng Lingliang, Professor Francis Snyder, Professor Cheng
Weidong, Professor Gu Minkang, Professor Mo Shijian, and Professor Rostam J.
Neuwirth. Their comments to the thesis are valuable for improving the thesis itself
and my future writing and research life.

I am also grateful to the administrative staffs at the Faculty of Law who facilitated
my study and who did much to encourage my research. I owe a special debt to
libertarians at the University Library who efficiently provided me with requested
documents and materials from overseas libraries. Thanks also go to the East Asia
Hall that provided me with comfortable and friendly accommodation, and the
Communications Office which offered me an opportunity to be one of the Student
Ambassadors of the University.

Financial support for my Ph.D. study and research came from: the European Union
Academic Programme in Macau, Institute of European Studies of Macau, and the
Faculty of Law of the University of Macau. The European Union Academic
Programme in Macau not only provided me with the PhD studentship but also
granted me financial assistance for conducting research at the University of Coimbra.

I would also like to thank other institutes that hosted me and/or my research project,
namely Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, Academy of European Law at
the European University Institute in Florence, International Civil Servants Capacity
Building Training Programme in Beijing, Catholic University of Lyon, and Institute
of European Studies of Macau. For this institutional support, I am grateful in
particular to the following individuals: at the University of Coimbra, Dr. Isaías
Hipólito, Dr. Helena Rodrigues, Telma Correia, Ana Trigo, Lian Huan; at European
University Institute: Ms. Joyce Davies; at International Civil Servants Capacity
Building Training Programme: Mr. Zhang Yi and Ms. Liu Hua; at Institute of
European Studies of Macau: Professor José Luís de Sales Marques.

I thank the EU-China Observer and the Asia Pacific Journal of EU Studies for
generously editing and publishing my articles which contribute directly to this thesis.
I also thank the following for allowing me to present papers: Annual Conference of
the Chinese EU Legal Study Association (Shanghai, Guilin, Xi’an, Wuhan, 2010-
2013); Graduate Forum held by the Centre for European Studies at Guangdong
Foreign Studies University (Guangdong, China, 2013); Annual Conference of
EUSA-Asia Pacific (Thailand, Singapore, Macau, 2011-2013); Asia-Pacific EU
Centre Graduate Students Workshop (Fukuoka, Japan, 2013); New Zealand
European Union Centres Network Conference (Waikato, New Zealand, 2011).
Generous suggestions and feedback from the editors and the conference participators
must be acknowledged.

The following colleagues and friends in the various academic settings deserved to be
thanked for the peer support they provided: Yan Hui, Li Zhou, Chen Wenwen, Chen
Shi, Fan Yayun, Wang Kunjie, Zhou Chenyan, Wu Yanni, Guo Jing, Sharon Cheang,
Guo Shanzhi, Huang Meng, Chen Guanhua, and Lv Kai. They encouraged me when
I depressed, brought me joy when I feel boring, accompanied me when I feel lonely.
I am so lucky and happy to have them with me during these years. I owe special
thanks to two colleagues who have proofread this thesis: Omoleye Segun Emmanuel
at the English Department and Luo Nan at the Faculty of Law. Without their helps, I
would not be confident enough to submit the thesis.

Most of all, I own an enormous debt of gratitude to my husband, Zhao Lirui, for his
support, understanding, and tolerance during the preparation of this thesis. He has
also proofread this thesis and provided his comments from the perspective of a legal
practitioner in China. An enormous debt of gratitude also goes to my parents, Zhang
Yilong and Zhou Aimei, for their continuous support and endless love. The final
stages in writing the thesis are intense, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes
exhausting, and sometimes difficult. Much of the outcome is due to their patience
and trust. Thanks also go to my parents-in-law and sister-in-law for their support and
understanding.

Preparing this thesis has been a philosophical as well as an academic experience.
Conducting a Ph.D. study is indeed a unique life experience. Thanks to all mentioned
above, for presenting to the memorable and precious period of my life. In my
undertaking such a lengthy and time-consuming project, my loved ones have
invariably suffered from my either not being around very much or not turning up for
the several events. Thank you for all your understanding.

Despite the generous help of many professors and friends, and the support of various
institutions, all responsibility for any shortcomings in the conception and
organisation of this thesis, and the commentary is my own. All suggestions for
improvement are welcome.

Zhang Jiao
Macau
Shanghai
2 May 2014
Abstract
This thesis is an attempt to identify, analyse and reflect on some of the doctrines and
discourses that governs the rule of law promotion. Specifically, it seeks to search an
answer to the following question: is there any possibility of the cooperation between
the EU and China in the area of the rule of law, which may satisfy the EU policy
concerning the rule of law promotion, substantively assist the rule of law process in
China, and contribute to the building of an international rule of law. The structure,
the approaches and the analyses in the thesis contain a proposal for such cooperation.

The proposal is presented in three steps: conceptualising the transnational rule of law
promotion, understanding the EU rule of law promotion abroad, and considering the
EU rule of law promotion in China. Part I contains analyses of the core issues within
the worldwide rule of law promotion. It is argued that current rule of law promotion
reflects a lack of study, compared with the expanding practices. Part II represents a
thorough analysis of the EU activities for promoting the rule of law abroad. It is
demonstrated that unlike the external dimension of the human rights policy that has
special strategy and instrument, EU activities for promoting the rule of law are
contained in various geographic and thematic programmes.

Finally, Part III attempts to propose a framework for opening the way to bilateral
cooperation between the EU and China in the area of the rule of law, against the
background of the building of an international rule of law. Basically, it is proposed
that the cooperation between the EU and China in promoting the rule of law at the
national and international levels may be possible based on the following three
changes in the strategy: from promoting ‘the rule of law’ to promoting ‘a rule of law’;
from unilateral promotion of the rule of law to bilateral cooperation on the rule of
law; and from promoting the rule of law at the national level to promoting the rule of
law at both national and international levels.

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