International Law Practice Questions Collection - Supporting Book for 21st Century Legal Series Textbooks

Author: Yu Mincai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This set of "Exercise Books" is a supplementary teaching material for the "21st Century Law Series Textbooks." It provides synchronized exercises arranged according to the chapters of the textbooks, helping students to solidly master the course content and truly excel in professional knowledge. Each chapter includes types of questions such as term definitions and concept comparisons, multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, case analysis questions, essay questions, and in-depth thinking questions. This set of "Exercise Books" also takes into account the needs of law students to pass the judicial examination and pursue postgraduate studies. Some classic questions from the national judicial examination (lawyer qualification examination) over the years have been selected to help students understand the difficulty, perspective, and format of the judicial examination, enabling targeted learning and review. Additionally, some questions from the postgraduate entrance examinations of top law schools (such as Renmin University of China, Peking University, and China University of Political Science and Law) have been selected. Moreover, a special section for "Essay and In-depth Thinking Questions" has been designed to broaden students' academic horizons and provide significant help for postgraduate students in mastering the methods and techniques of answering essay questions. In addition to the self-assessment questions for each chapter, the book also includes three comprehensive test papers, allowing students to evaluate their learning outcomes after completing the course. This book can also serve as a resource for teachers, with a large number of questions available for teachers to select as test content.
Faced with various phenomena in higher legal education, we feel confused and concerned: Ten years ago, law was considered one of the "hot majors," but it has now disappeared from the list of popular majors. Law was originally a highly specialized field, yet many employers feel that law graduates lack professionalism. Many students who have studied law for four years know numerous legal terms but struggle to explain how to handle a case in China. They can discuss German regulations or American theories fluently but are unaware of China's legal provisions or how to resolve cases within the Chinese legal system. This phenomenon can be termed "the non-professionalization of professional education." In 2005, Professor He Weifang announced online that he would no longer admit postgraduate students, challenging the current emphasis on public courses over students' genuine interest in their majors. These issues in legal education may be related to the broader educational context. Many liberal arts students spend half their time studying foreign languages and the other half playing games after entering university. Since final exams in liberal arts are relatively easy, students can easily pass by cramming a month or even a week before the exam. Some humorously claim that some liberal arts students effectively study for only eight months or less during their four years of university. While we criticize exam-oriented education and advocate for quality education, we have neglected professional education. This "lack of specialization" has caused concern and unease among legal educators and practitioners. If this trend continues, it will not only negatively impact law students but may ultimately harm China's legal education. Therefore, we suggest that law students should focus on mastering their major and develop it into their core strength, enabling them to secure employment and respect through professionalism.
Should university students do exercises? Some people, especially liberal arts students, might ask this question sarcastically. For science and engineering students, doing exercises and experiments is a common practice, but in liberal arts schools and departments, exercises seem unusual, and some students even feel that university is fundamentally different from high school. However, we have compiled this set of "Exercise Books" specifically for law students, advocating that they should also conduct synchronized exercises and self-assessments during their regular studies. This idea stems from the doubts and concerns mentioned earlier. We hope that through synchronized exercises, students can solidly master the knowledge of their discipline, familiarize themselves with the current laws of China, and gain insights into some cutting-edge academic issues. On a larger scale, we aim to contribute to the "professional education" of legal education. Specifically, this book aims to achieve the following goals:
1. Help students systematically master the knowledge of their discipline. Completing a course is not just about earning credits; students must truly grasp the "essentials" of the subject. This "Exercise Book" includes a "Knowledge Logic Map" section that clearly outlines the logical relationships between different knowledge points in a chapter. Various types of self-assessment questions are designed to highlight key points and provide detailed and insightful answers. These not only broaden students' horizons but also help them understand the different forms of various question types, master their solving methods, and enhance their adaptability. In addition to the self-assessment questions for each chapter, the book also includes three mock tests, allowing students to evaluate their learning outcomes after completing the course.
2. Help students pass the national judicial examination. After systematically studying law for four years, students should be able to pass the national judicial examination with ease. The reality, however, is different, indicating that some students' professional learning remains superficial. This "Exercise Book" includes some classic questions from the national judicial examination (lawyer qualification examination) over the years, helping students understand the difficulty, perspective, and format of the examination, enabling targeted learning and review.
3. Help students prepare for postgraduate studies. On one hand, some questions from the postgraduate entrance examinations of top law schools (such as Renmin University of China, Peking University, and China University of Political Science and Law) have been selected. On the other hand, this book includes a special section for "Essay and In-depth Thinking Questions" to broaden students' academic horizons and provide significant help for postgraduate students in mastering the methods and techniques of answering essay questions.
In summary, our approach is to use a seemingly "exam-oriented" method—synchronized exercises—to achieve the grand yet meaningful goal of strengthening "professional education." This set of "Exercise Books" includes 14 volumes, corresponding to 14 core law courses, and serves as a supplementary teaching material for the "21st Century Law Series Textbooks." It is worth mentioning that since its publication in 2000, the "21st Century Law Series Textbooks" have been widely used by teachers and students across numerous law schools in China. Some textbooks, such as Professor Wang Liming's "Civil Law," have sold over 300,000 copies, and the average print sales for the 14 core course textbooks exceed 100,000 copies. Behind these 100,000 copies are 100,000 or more readers. The immense love and support from so many readers make us feel a great sense of responsibility. Our only way to repay this is by continuously improving our service!
The "21st Century Law Series Textbooks" now have multiple sub-series, including core course textbooks, core course teaching reference books, elective course textbooks, case analysis textbooks, and bilingual textbooks, with over 80 titles in total. This set of "Exercise Books" has now been added, further expanding the offerings. The purpose of all these varieties is to provide more choices for teachers and students who use our textbooks and meet their diverse needs. We hope that this large-scale "21st Century Law Series Textbooks" can be continuously supplemented and improved, ensuring satisfaction for teachers and students who use it, and contributing to the professional education of China's legal field in the process!