On the afternoon of May 22, 2026, the academic lecture themed "What Are the Sources of Law?" was successfully held in Conference Room 434, Xingmin Building, Xianlin Campus of Nanjing Normal University. Professor Chen Jinghui from the Law School of Renmin University of China was invited as the keynote speaker, Professor Zhang Lei from the Law School of Nanjing Normal University presided over the lecture, and Professor Feng Fei, Associate Professor Chen Hui and Professor Yuan Yong served as discussants. A large number of faculty and students from the college attended the lecture, fostering a strong academic atmosphere and lively on-site discussions.

At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Zhang Lei extended a sincere welcome to Professor Chen Jinghui and introduced his outstanding achievements in the fields of jurisprudence and legal philosophy in China.

Focusing on the theme of "What Are the Sources of Law?", Professor Chen Jinghui first sorted out the prevailing theory of legal sources in China. The current academic consensus defines legal sources as the sum of adjudicative grounds, with the core purpose of delimiting the boundary of judges' discretion. Legal sources are divided into two categories: formal sources, which have legal binding force and must be applied in judicial adjudication, including constitutional law, laws, administrative regulations and other legal norms in a broad sense; informal sources, which have no legal binding force but only theoretical persuasive force, mainly covering various norms such as precedents, customs, policies and legal doctrines.