At 10:00 a.m. on November 23, 2024, the 58th session (first of the 2024/2025 academic year) of the "Shizi" Gate Legal Forum, titled "Legal Dogmatics, Case Analysis, and Civil Law Methodology", was successfully held at the N211 Lecture Hall of Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). The forum was organized by the MUST Faculty of Law and sponsored by the MUST Foundation.
The event featured distinguished guest speakers Professor Lei Lei, Dean of the Law School at China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), and Associate Professor Jin Jing from CUPL’s Civil, Commercial, and Economic Law School. The discussion panel included Professor Yu Guanghua of the MUST Faculty of Law and Assistant Professor Ng Kei Kei from the University of Macau Faculty of Law. The forum was moderated by Assistant Professor Xie Gengliang, Programme Director of the MUST Faculty of Law.
Presentation of Commemorative Gifts
(From left: Assistant Professor Wu Qiqi, Associate Professor Jin Jing, Dean Lei Lei, and Programme Director Xie Gengliang)
The forum commenced with Programme Director Xie Gengliang presenting commemorative gifts to the guest speakers on behalf of the Faculty.
Professor Lei Lei delivered a lecture titled "Legal Dogmatics and Its Chinese Context", tracing the origins, debates, and evolution of legal dogmatics in China. He emphasized that legal dogmatics in China emerged from critique, matured through academic discourse, and has grown alongside the refinement of China’s legal system and interdisciplinary research. Professor Lei addressed common misunderstandings and questions about legal dogmatics in China, asserting that while it is the cornerstone of modern legal science, its current limitations do not justify its dismissal. He also stressed that legal dogmatics does not monopolize legal scholarship and should coexist with other research methodologies.
Professor Lei Lei During the Forum
Associate Professor Jin Jing followed with a presentation titled "Case Studies on the Basis of Claims: Structural Design and Pedagogical Challenges". Starting from the diversity of claim-based approaches in judicial practice, she highlighted common misconceptions about the basis of claims and underscored their complexity across legal contexts. Associate Professor Jin advocated for integrating legal dogmatics into civil law education to enhance teaching quality, emphasizing the need to cultivate students’ theoretical rigor and problem-solving skills in handling intricate cases.
Associate Professor Jin Jing During the Forum
Professors Yu Guanghua and Wu Qiqi engaged in a dynamic exchange with the speakers, exploring the academic and practical applications of legal dogmatics, socio-legal studies, and civil law methodology across jurisdictions. Law students further enriched the dialogue by raising questions on the relationship between legal dogmatics, legal positivism, Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory, and legal methodology.
Professor Yu Guanghua During the Panel Discussion
Assistant Professor Ng Kei Kei During the Panel Discussion
Forum Venue
The forum attracted over 170 faculty members and students. By examining legal dogmatics from both micro and macro perspectives, it deepened participants’ theoretical and practical insights into the development of legal scholarship in China, while enhancing the responsiveness of legal research to contemporary Chinese legal practice.
