On the afternoon of March 26, 2026, the inaugural session of the Guangming Criminal Law Lecture Series, co-hosted by the Nanjing Normal University School of Law, the Jiangsu University Collaborative Innovation Center of Regional Legal Development, the China Institute of Modernization of Rule of Law, and the Shanghai Guangming (Nanjing) Law Firm, was held in Conference Room 434, Xingmin Building, Xianlin Campus, Nanjing Normal University. The lecture featured Grand Justice Hu Yunteng, Member of the Advisory Committee of the Supreme People's Court and President of the Case Law Research Association of the China Law Society, who delivered a presentation titled “Current Hot Topics in Criminal Law Theory and Practice.” The event was moderated by Professor Fang Le, Dean of the Nanjing Normal University School of Law. Grand Justice Xia Daohu, former Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group and President of the Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court, served as a discussant. Professors Cai Daotong, Lecturer Shen Yihan, Judge Zhan Shuxin, Lawyer Wang Weiguo, and Lawyer Liu Chenhui participated throughout the session, which was attended by undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the outset of the lecture, Dean Fang Le extended a warm welcome and sincere gratitude to Grand Justice Hu Yunteng and Grand Justice Xia Daohu for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend the event. He introduced Grand Justice Hu Yunteng as a leading figure in China’s criminal law academia and practice, noting his distinguished contributions to criminal law theory and judicial reform, as well as his role in presiding over the retrial of major cases such as that of Nie Shubin. Dean Fang remarked that the insights shared by Grand Justice Hu would offer faculty and students valuable perspectives on both theory and practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the lecture, Grand Justice Hu Yunteng elaborated on hot topics in current criminal law theory and practice from the perspectives of criminal legislation, criminal justice, and typical cases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the lecture, Grand Justice Hu Yunteng noted that while amendments to the Criminal Law since last year have left “little to commend,” two developments merit attention. First, the newly revised Public Security Administration Punishments Law, which took effect on June 1, 2025, and came into force on January 1 this year, has added multiple acts corresponding to criminal law offenses, earning it the designation of a “mini-criminal law” or “pre-criminal law.” The law also introduces innovations such as a system for sealing public security violation records, and the issue of its alignment with the Criminal Law warrants further study. Second, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has repealed five separate criminal laws, further highlighting the codification function of the current Criminal Law. Regarding the codification of criminal law, Grand Justice Hu observed that different views exist within academia. In his view, future codification should not merely entail an increase in the number of provisions, but rather a restructuring of the specific provisions, consolidating similar offenses through a typological approach to reduce the burden on judicial practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regarding criminal justice, Grand Justice Hu Yunteng elaborated from three perspectives: judicial interpretations, judicial statistics, and typical cases. On judicial interpretations, he cited various judicial interpretations and normative documents issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in 2025, covering offenses such as assaulting police officers, intellectual property crimes, black soil protection, and safeguarding the right to defense of detained individuals, noting that these have become hot topics in research. On judicial statistics, he pointed out that the number of criminal cases filed, prosecuted, and adjudicated has all shown a downward trend, indicating continued improvement in public order and an increasing sense of safety among the public. At the same time, he also drew attention to the relatively low number of acquittals, observing that this phenomenon warrants in-depth study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regarding typical cases, Grand Justice Hu Yunteng provided an in-depth analysis of criminal cases selected among the “Top Ten Cases Promoting the Advancement of the Rule of Law in China in 2025.” In the series of fraud cases in northern Myanmar, he noted that these cases reflected the extension of China’s judicial jurisdiction. In the case of a minor homicide in Handan, Hebei Province, he thoroughly analyzed the conditions for approving the prosecution of low-age juveniles involved in crimes, demonstrating a combination of strictness and leniency in the handling of juvenile delinquency. In the Datong, Shanxi, engagement rape case, he clarified the essential distinction between an engagement ceremony and marriage registration, reaffirming that women’s sexual autonomy is not affected by engagement ceremonies.

During the discussion session, Grand Justice Xia Daohu highly commended Grand Justice Hu Yunteng’s lecture for its integration of theoretical depth and practical relevance, as well as its strong guidance and authority. Drawing on the practical work of courts in Jiangsu Province, he elaborated on the challenges faced in the judicial protection of intellectual property rights, as well as the correlation between the decline in the number of criminal cases and the management of litigation sources and comprehensive social security governance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professor Cai Daotong expressed sincere gratitude to the two distinguished guests. He noted that Grand Justice Hu Yunteng’s insights on the codification of criminal law were particularly impressive, and his analysis of criminal law application based on statistical data was highly enlightening for students. The discussion on the boundaries between criminal policy and criminal law interpretation through the lens of typical cases, he added, is especially instructive for students focusing on criminal law. Professor Cai also observed that current legal scholarship is increasingly oriented toward addressing practical judicial issues. He reminded students to pay attention to judicial practice in Jiangsu Province, as courts in Jiangsu rank among the highest in the nation in terms of both guiding cases and typical cases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the conclusion of the lecture, Dean Fang Le expressed his gratitude to the two Grand Justices for their insightful presentations. He noted that Grand Justice Hu Yunteng had outlined a vivid picture of the current state of criminal justice from multiple perspectives, including legislation, judiciary, data, and cases, while Grand Justice Xia Daohu’s discussion had further deepened the understanding of judicial practice in Jiangsu Province. As a newly established academic brand event of the School of Law, the inaugural Guangming Criminal Law Lecture was a resounding success and held significant importance. In the future, the School will continue to build high-level academic exchange platforms to promote the deep integration of legal theory and judicial practice.

The lecture came to a successful conclusion amid warm applause.