ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｉｎ Ａｕｓｔｒｉａ

At the invitation of the Austrian-Chinese Legal Association， the CPAFFC Delegation led by its vice president Liu Zhiming visited Austria from November 21 to 28， 2005. The delegation consisted of personages of the legal circles from Hunan， Qinghai， Jilin， Jiangxi， Beijing and Tianjin. In Austria， the delegation participated in the First Austria-China Legal Symposium， met with important political figures including Barbara Prammer， second president of the National Council of Austria， and Johannes Jarolim， president of the Justice Committee of the National Council， and visited the University of Vienna and the Austria Lawyers’ Association.

The First Austria-China Legal Symposium

The symposium was held by the Austrian-Chinese Legal Association to introduce Chinese legal systems to Austrian legal circles and promote cooperation in this field between the two sides. The Austrian-Chinese Legal Association was founded in 2005， with President of the Justice Committee of the National Council J. Jarolim as its president and Minister of Justice Karin Gastinger as the honorary president of the association.

The symposium was opened at the Ministry of Justice on November 22. Besides the CPAFFC Delegation and the China Supreme People’s Procuratorate Delegation， more than 80 representatives from the legal and judicial circles of China and Austria attended the symposium， including important figures of Austrian legal， judicial and academic circles， such as Chief Procurator-General Mr. Presslauer and Rector of the University of Vienna Prof. Georg Winkler. At the opening ceremony， Chinese Ambassador to Austria Lu Yonghua and Vice President Liu Zhiming gave speeches. Liu Zhiming hoped that both sides would take this opportunity to further exchanges and cooperation in the fields of law and justice and push forward the development of relations between the two countries. Members of the CPAFFC delegation Li Wei， vice-president of the Higher People’s Court of Hunan Province， Li Ning， vice-president of the Beijing Law Society， Ye Jun from the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce and Ji Jianfeng， member of the WTO Committee of the All China Lawyers Association， respectively made theme speeches entitled The Reform of Chinese Justice， Labour Protection in China， The Laws and Regulations of Foreign Investment in China and The Social Status and Roles of Chinese Lawyers. Afterwards， president of the China Procuratorate Journal Yuan Qiguo delivered a lecture entitled A Brief Account of Chinese Procuratorial System. Austrian specialists and scholars who attended the symposium asked many questions after the Chinese lectures finished， showing great interest in the present Chinese legal and judicial system and making the atmosphere warm and friendly.

At noon of the day， Mrs. Prammer， second president of the National Council of Austria， came to the symposium and made a ebullient speech. She then had lunch together with all the participants. Mrs. Prammer had visited China at the invitation of the CPAFFC. She highly praised the efforts made by the CPAFFC over the years to enhance Sino-Austrian friendship， and said that she would work hard to further the relations between Austria and China.

Meeting with Relevant Institutions

On the morning of November 23， the delegation visited the University of Vienna. Founded in 1365， it is the oldest university in the German language regions in the world. Prof. Winkler， rector of the university and president of the Confederation of European Union Rectors' Conferences， met with the delegation and made a briefing in the meeting room of the University Council. Walter Rechberger， dean of the Law Department of the university， answered questions including the history of the department， enrollment of students including overseas ones， employment of graduates， etc.

Afterwards， the delegation called on Johannes Jarolim， president of the Austrian Justice Committee of the National Council， in the parliament building. He briefed the delegation on the Austrian judicial system and current problems it was faced with， especially the problems that all European Union member countries are facing， i.e. how to adapt their own national laws and regulations with those of the E.U.

That afternoon， the delegation paid a visit to the Austria Lawyers’ Association and had an informal discussion with the association’s president Mr. Ben-Ibler. At the request of the delegation， Ben-Ibler talked about the lawyer system of Austria， the qualification of lawyers， the major function of the association and the problems that lawyers often encounter in work. Lawyer Ji Jianfeng， a member of the CPAFFC delegation， also gave a brief account of the All China Lawyers’ Association.