China Business Law Journal aims to assist corporate counsel and lawyers in their work, and to contribute to the future development of the law in China
Welcome to the launch issue of China Business Law Journal. We are excited to bring to the market something entirely new – a high quality, dual mother-tongue publication designed for in-house counsel at China-based and China-focused companies, as well as for the legal professionals in private practice who serve them.
Our initiative is a response to a pressing demand. Following the success of our other magazine, India Business Law Journal, since its launch in 2007, the need for a new legal publication for China was confirmed in a major survey that we conducted in the first half of 2009. The survey found that China corporate counsel are eagerly seeking an independent, reliable, practical and up-to-date source of information and analysis, in both Chinese and English.
China Business Law Journal meets that need. The journal aims to provide a platform upon which legal professionals from different backgrounds and different traditions discuss, analyse and debate the issues of the day. Sometimes such discussion will be open and frank, as in the round-table discussion of the price-fixing rules (see In Focus). But at all times it will aim to assist corporate counsel and lawyers in their work, and to contribute to the future development of the law in China.
Also in this inaugural issue, the Market Watch story offers our analysis of the present state of play in the legal sector in China. Practice Notes looks at how the amended PRC Patent Law, which came into effect on 1 October, is working in practice. And in The Four Seas, a regular feature examining overseas laws and issues that affect Chinese companies, we analyse the implications for businesses in China of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Finally, we round off with our Correspondents columns, in which respected law firms offer high-quality analysis in their chosen practice areas.
China Business Law Journal would like to thank our Correspondent firms, as well as our editorial board, for contributing to what we are confident will be a fresh and worthwhile enterprise. We look forward to working closely with the legal and business community over the coming months and years.
