In the afternoon of November 12, 2020, Vice President of the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) and Chairman of the General Assembly of the MUST Alumni Association, Pang Chuan, and Dean of the Faculty of Law, Fang Quan, together with elected board members of the MUST Faculty of Law Alumni Association, visited the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government. The delegation was cordially received by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ao Ieong U, and the Head for Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Lou Pak Sang.
Vice President Pang Chuan introduced the Law Faculty. As one of the four founding faculties of the University since March 2000, the Faculty of Law has formed unique and distinctive characteristics in the historical context of multiculturalism and the trend of inter-regional legal development. It is committed to tailor its own characteristics and advantages to contribute to the inter-regional legal research and the research on the Basic Law in the Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, he also introduced the MUST General Alumni Association, which was established in 2006 aiming to enhance the connection between alumni and the University, as well as improving the network among alumni. In around a decade, the MUST General Alumni Association had established regional alumni associations in several cities around the country and had been promoting more initiatives to establish alumni branches within faculties. The Law Faculty Alumni Association is the second branch association that is tied to the faculties.
Dean of the Law Faculty, Fang Quan, introduced that the MUST Law Faculty offers the undergraduate program of Bachelor of Laws, six master’s degree programs, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Law degree program in 9 different majors. The undergraduate program offers parallel courses of Macao Law and Chinese Mainland Law and pays special attention to build foundational legal theories and international legal knowledge in students’ curriculum. The Faculty of Law also runs several research institutions and enjoys sufficient resources for teaching and researching. It has established broad and effective cooperation with both domestic and oversea academic and practical institutions to promote inter-regional legal research.
Secretary Ao Ieong U firstly congratulated on the establishment of the MUST Law Faculty Alumni Association and appraised the objectives and mission of the Law Faculty. She pointed out that it had been particularly meaningful for the Law Faculty to consistently build on its specialization in inter-regional legal research. Within the big picture of collaborative development in the Greater Bay Area, the advantage of the Law Faculty will only become better and more attractive. She sincerely wishes that the Law Faculty, together with the effort of its Alumni Association, would play more important role in development of the Greater Bay Area.
President Lao Chak Kuong said that the Alumni Association will use the platform of the Alumni Association to unite alumni and strengthen the ties between alumni and the University and the Law Faculty. The Alumni Association will focus its work on advising the development and construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and promoting the research of the Basic Law.
Vice President Pang Chuan (left) Presenting the Magazine of the MUST General Alumni Association, “Jing Hai Xue Ren”, to Secretary Ao Ieong U (right)
Dean Professor Fang Quan (left) Presenting a Gift to Secretary Ao Ieong U (right)
Advisor at the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture, Guo Xiaoming, also attended the visit. Members of the MUST delegation also include Vice Chairman of the Board of the MUST General Alumni Association, Tang Xi; Secretary Feng Junguo; Vice President of the Law Faculty Alumni Association, Liu Lic Ka; Vice Chairman of the Board Xu Bing; Zhou Ting; Leong On Leng; Lin Weiquan; and Xu Xiaoxian etc.
Introduction of the Faculty of Law
Established in 2000, the MUST Law Faculty offers the undergraduate program of Bachelor of Laws; six master’s degree programs including Master of Laws, Juris Master, Master of Laws in Criminal Justice, Master of International Economic and Commercial Law, Master of International Arbitration, and Master of Financial Crime and Regulation; the Doctor of Philosophy in Law degree program in 9 different majors, including Legal Theory, History of Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Civil Law and Business Law, Criminal Law, Economic Law, International Law, Legal Procedure, Environmental and Natural Resources Protection Law. In accordance with the principle of “one country, two systems”, the Law Faculty provides parallel courses of Macao Law and Chinese Mainland Law in its Bachelor of Laws program, and the postgraduate programs feature comparative and cross-domain laws as their main content. The Law Faculty if the first batch members of the Mainland-Hong Kong-Macao Law Education Alliance and the young members of the Asian Law Institute. Together with the Macao Anti-Money Laundering Specialists Association, it also established the Macao Exam Centre of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) with the authorization from the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and initiated the Master of Financial Crime and Regulation program, aiming to enhance the regional talent pool of anti-money laundering and financial regulation and to serve the Macao society.
The Law Faculty has several research institutions, including the Research Centre for Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, the Legal Practice and Education Centre, and Macao Centre for Law and Finance. It also has two state-level institutions. One is the Macao Intellectual Property Research Centre, jointly built by the Faculty and the Intellectual Property Study Centre of the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. This Centre is also a key partner research base outside Mainland China for humanitarian and social sciences recognized by the Ministry of Education. The other is the Macao Research Centre for the Judicial Training Base of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Taking the advantage of Macao’s traditional and unique geographic position, the Faculty actively carries out foreign academic and teaching exchange activities, and has built up effective cooperative relationships with foreign academic institutions and professional organizations.
The Faculty of Law has formed unique and distinctive characteristics in the historical context of multiculturalism and the trend of inter-regional legal development. It is continuously improving its overall strength and academic influence, and it is committed to cultivating legal professionals who embrace the ideals of the rule of law, are virtuous and talented, and are dedicated to serving society and the public.
