The 22nd Congress on the Law of the World that opened in Beijing yesterday got off to a good start with Luo Gan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, delivering a speech at the opening ceremony. Luo spoke of the realistic significance of this year's congress by referring back to the Beijing Declaration adopted in 1990, which he said "has had wide-ranging impact and demonstrated the aspiration of the legal fraternity to promote world peace and development by legal means."

Luo said that in the era of globalization, countries have their interests intertwined, depend on each other for security and have common opportunities and common challenges.

"We should work together to forge a new international order with fairness and justice. We should establish a harmonious international community based on equal participation, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation for all the nations," he said.

Luo's remarks were echoed by Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People's Court. Xiao said that realizing the rule of law in the world and building a harmonious international society depend on the common endeavor of legal professionals all over the world. Maintaining the rule of law is a common goal for all countries, no matter how legally developed.

State Councilor Zhou Yongkang also underscored the importance of coordinating international relations in the legal field.

Legal circles everywhere have the responsibility to set up a fair and reasonable international political and economic order by means of law, he said. Zhou is also minister of public security.

Addressing a panel discussion yesterday, Zhao Yongchen, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Public Security's Counter-terrorism Bureau, urged for a coordinated position against terrorism. There should be no double standards when handling terrorism, he said.

"Any form of terrorism is hazardous to the international community and no country, party or individual group should have double standards based on political or other selfish intentions while dealing with terrorism," he emphasized.

According to him, the international community should adopt a shared position against terrorism and take legislative, administrative, judicial and other necessary measures to resolutely combat it.

China is opposed to relating counter-terrorism policies with specific religions or nations, he added.

During a panel discussion on domestic violence, Chen Mingxia, a law researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that domestic violence, particularly that against women, is a social problem throughout the world, including China, which has traditionally regarded domestic violence as a private matter between individuals. She said China should formulate a law specifically against domestic violence, describing present legal provisions in the Marriage Law as too abstract.

According to the All-China Women's Federation, its local offices in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions receive over 300,000 letters every year complaining of family problems, many of which concern domestic violence.

China had not paid much attention to domestic violence until the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, and then in 2001, when the country revised its Marriage Law. It was then that the words "prohibition of domestic violence" were added for the first time to its legal framework.

Last month, China adopted a draft amendment to the Law on Women's Rights Protection, criminalizing sexual harassment and domestic violence.

The week-long congress is being attended by over 1,000 delegates, 450 of whom are overseas delegates from 60 countries, including justices, prosecutors, lawyers, law professors and senior judicial officials.

China first hosted the congress in 1990 in Beijing.

World Law Conference Program

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2005)