Corporate Law Case Studies (Revised Edition)

Author: Liu Yongguang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Legal education in civil law countries adopts the deductive method, where teachers typically start from legal concepts to explain legal principles. In contrast, legal education in common law countries employs the inductive method, with teachers deriving legal principles from specific cases. Both approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses. China follows the civil law tradition in legal education, where teachers present their lectures based on the fundamental principles of legal systems, and case studies or examples are arranged according to the need to elucidate these principles. This teaching method is undoubtedly essential for students, especially those new to law, as it enables them to systematically grasp legal principles rather than in fragmented ways. Only by systematically mastering legal principles can students accurately understand the rationale behind legal provisions and apply the law effectively in practice. However, this teaching method also has limitations in cultivating law students, as purely theoretical instruction may leave students with a superficial understanding of legal knowledge and a lack of practical problem-solving skills. In recent years, with the deepening of legal education reform in China, teaching methods such as case-based learning and legal clinics, which help develop students' practical abilities, have gained increasing attention and have been introduced into various aspects of legal education. The School of Law at Xiamen University has always emphasized the integration of legal theory and judicial practice, requiring students to study both "law in books" and "law in action." In recent years' undergraduate teaching reforms, we have placed great emphasis on introducing and practicing case-based learning. In addition to increasing the proportion of case studies in classroom teaching or offering separate case analysis courses, we have particularly focused on collaboration with judicial departments to make full use of local judicial resources, organizing judicial internships and research to cultivate students' practical skills. In 2003, we partnered with the Xiamen Intermediate People's Court to hire judges with extensive judicial experience and master's degrees as part-time instructors, who independently taught civil case analysis and criminal case analysis courses. These judges used cases they had personally adjudicated as teaching materials, integrating substantive law and procedural law. They not only explained the legal principles and norms involved in the cases but also taught students how to apply the law and handle complex issues, making students feel as if they were witnessing a judicial trial process, which yielded excellent teaching results. This initiative has not only benefited the cultivation of practical skills in law students and bridged the gap between legal education and judicial examinations but also holds positive significance for training expert judges. Guided by the philosophy of collaborative education and making full use of judicial resources to serve legal education, the School of Law at Xiamen University has once again partnered with the Xiamen Intermediate People's Court and collaborated with the Civil Trial Second Circuit of the Fujian High People's Court, the Xiamen Maritime Court, the Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court, and the Ningde Intermediate People's Court to compile this series of "New Judicial Case Commentaries." It aims to provide law students with a case textbook that combines theory with practice and reflects the latest judicial trends. The cases in this series are carefully selected from thousands of cases adjudicated by these courts in recent years, ensuring that they are not only fresh in content but also representative, fully reflecting the latest developments in legal relationships and judicial practice in China's evolving society. Following the basic approach of combining principle explanation with problem-solving, we have asked the authors to not only elaborate on the fundamental legal principles relevant to each case but also to conduct in-depth theoretical analysis of the difficulties and ambiguities involved. Therefore, this series is not only helpful for law students to study law but also beneficial for general readers to understand legal knowledge and the current approaches of courts in handling legal issues. Leaders and judges from the Fujian High People's Court, the Xiamen Intermediate People's Court, the Xiamen Maritime Court, the Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court, and the Ningde Intermediate People's Court have provided enthusiastic support for the compilation of this series, and leaders from Xiamen University Press have offered full assistance in its publication. On behalf of the editorial committee, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to them. Without their support and assistance, we would not have been able to complete this work smoothly. This book collects and analyzes over 50 real cases related to the basic systems of company law, providing legal and theoretical commentary on the key issues involved. It serves as a university-level case textbook that combines theory with practice and reflects the latest judicial trends, designed to help law students study legal theories and explore practical issues.