Environment Law

Criticism and Reconstruction of Climate Civil Litigation in China

The civil litigation system for climate change in China is facing three practical dilemmas: first, difficulty in distinguishing it from traditional civil litigation cases, second, uncertainty in litigation objects, strategies between climate change litigation and traditional litigation, and third, the over-expansion of the social function of climate justice. It is necessary to reshape the civil litigation system for climate change in China. This article argues that the rights and obligations of climate change litigation should be constructed based on the quantifiable temperature control targets and NDCs of the Paris Agreement and China's emission reduction obligations. This should be the core standard to distinguish between broad and narrow climate change litigation according to the relevance of individual cases, and special adjustments in line with China's situations should be made through the interpretation of the CBDR principle. Under China's current legal system, the...

DENG Haifeng & TANG Zihuai

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Data Law

Regulatory Data Protection for Biologics under the Art.39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement? An Issue to be Considered by China

As the global biologics market burgeons, the adequacy of international intellectual property protection frameworks under evolving pharmaceutical landscapes warrants scrutiny. This article examines whether Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement mandates biologics regulatory data protection and analyzes this question under PRC laws. A meticulous analysis of pharmaceutical classification and Article 39.3 drafting history under the treaty interpretation principles demonstrates that Article 39.3 exclusively applies to new chemical entity drugs. China’s Article 39.3 equivalent has mirrored the same position since China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, despite its recent failed attempts to extend the protection scope to biologics. The article advocates establishing a biologics-specific regulatory data protection regime under the PRC laws from three perspectives: (1) the inadequacy of patent protection, (2) the encouragement of biologics innovation and the promotion of public health...

SHI Lifu

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Criminal Law

Increased Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence through UNSC Chapter VII Actions

Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV) continues to be used in conflicts despite the existing international law prohibitions contained in the Rome Statute of the ICC and other international agreements. Given the continued violations of these prohibitions, more needs to be done to prevent instances of CRSV and increase prosecutions of perpetrators. This paper focuses specifically on CRSV against women. Through examples of conflicts with varying amounts of CRSV and the enforcement measures taken, this paper argues that the current ICC framework is ineffective and incomplete. This paper proposes three potential improvements the UNSC could make in treating CRSV to demonstrate its expressed commitment to eliminating CRSV and holding perpetrators responsible. 1) the UNSC could grant broader jurisdiction to prosecute sexual violence. In the alternative, 2) the UNSC could establish an automatic determination function for itself in referring instances of CRSV to the ICC under Chapter VII...

Naomi Hilton

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)

Environment Law

Climate Change Disputes in International Investment Dispute Settlement: Hardening, Alienation, and Future Trends

As the climate crisis intensifies, there is mounting pressure on international legal mechanisms to enforce state obligations in a meaningful manner. While the prevailing climate regime continues to be characterized by soft-law instruments, a novel dynamic is emerging within the domain of international investment law. Recent treaty practice and arbitral jurisprudence indicate that climate-related provisions in international investment agreements are undergoing a process of normative “hardening,” whereby soft commitments are interpreted as binding obligations. The present analysis posits that this transformation is being driven by a form of judicial activism, manifest through untraditional approach of treaty interpretation by investment tribunals or dispute panels, that expands the legal consequences of climate clauses beyond their original textual scope. Through a comparative textual analysis and case study examination, the article demonstrates how adjudicators are...

JIANG Qifan & MA Yuhang

17 Tsinghua China L. Rev. (2025)