Teaching digital and global law for digital and global students: creating students as producers in a Hong Kong Internet Law class

In an increasingly globalised and digitalised society and economy, legal education needs to foster a different skill set among students from that taught traditionally. Law students need practice in responding to a variety of scenarios and contexts, as well as developing creative and critical thinking skills. The "student as producer" approach provides opportunities for students to build such skills by having students produce work that could benefit their fellow classmates and future cohorts, and contribute to the discipline's knowledge base. We present a case study of a final year undergraduate law course, Internet and the Law, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong where we used the student as producer approach, collaborated with external organisations and used digital tools to foster global and digital-savvy law students. Using a mixed-methods approach we highlight successes and limitations of using the "student as producer" approach, digital tools and an internationalised curriculum in our law classroom. Overall, students and staff found the approach successful in providing global and digital law students with practical skills. We also identified limitations and challenges to be addressed in future projects. Our findings speak to broader themes of active engagement, contributions, and practical knowledge for law students in their learning and future careers

Cultivating a Green Conscience in Corporate Culture: China's Approach to Regulating Corporate Environmental Crime

China's accelerated development in the Post-reform era has led to the deterioration of its environment. Unfettered factories have turned the rivers red and poisonous with their unfiltered waste. Unable to ignore the physical consequences in the face of international criticism, China amended its criminal code to specify and bolster its protection of the environment in 2007. Following these changes, the country has continued to evolve its legal conceptions and approaches to corporate environmental crime, including harsh punitive measures with lengthy prison sentences, and even the possibility of the death penalty. This study incorporates the literature from white-collar criminology, green criminology and regulatory theory in its attempt to understand how China is conceptualizing and approaching corporate environmental crime through its legal system. Using a content analysis of court judgments, legislative documents and news media from Jiangsu province, as well as in-depth interviews of professionals knowledgeable about China's environmental issues, this study finds that within the rhetoric is an attempt by the government to urge corporations to consider maintaining a sustainable environment as part of their duty in their operating processes through both cooperative and punitive methods. The conceit of obligation lines up with the collectivist viewpoint advocated under the primary cultural traditions in China-- Confucianism and communism. Local/state corporations are likely entrenched in these traditions and thus, would be more amenable to this line of thinking when considering participation in deviant acts, such as illegal dumping or the smuggling of waste. At this early stage, corporate compliance appears more rote, but within China's larger plans to form a "green" society this green conscience could be cultivated and provide the pathway to a responsive regulatory system for handling corporate environmental crimes