Institute for Chinese Legal Modernization Studies(ICLMS), based on Nanjing Normal University, is the first batch of Jiangsu Province’s high-end think tank, and it is a non-profit public research organization that concentrates on the decision-making and consulting of Chinese legal modernization in contemporary China.

At present, there are 59 researchers in the institute, including 22 professors, 15 associate professors, 6 doctors, 5 standing staff in postdoctoral research station and 11 doctoral candidates majoring in Jurisprudence. The institute has also employed some civil servants who are well-equipped with rich experience of legal practice in relative departments, as well as some experts and scholars in colleges and universities as specially invited researchers. And now, the number of these researchers has reached 56.

Goals: Providing policy-making consulting for our country and the CCP in the comprehensive enforcement of ruling a country by law, for the law governed China, for the comprehensive implementation of governing a province by law and for facilitating the rule-of-law development in Jiangsu province under the circumstances further implementing of President Xi’s Thought on the rule of law and the leading of “Four Comprehensive” strategy. We hope that after ten years development, this institute can become domestic first-class and international influential professional think tank in the area of Chinese legal modernization, and contribute to the legal modernization of  contemporary China as well as the realization of modernization in national governance systems and its capacity.

Functional Orientation: based in Jiangsu, faced toward the nation and viewed the whole world; actively engage in the process of national modernization of law(NML), deeply exploration in the strategies of NML and provide useful suggestions for the construction of NML during the law development in Jiangsu.

Philosophy: stick to the right direction, adhere to be independent, pay attention to the effectiveness and practicality, strive to be professional, promote talents prospering, and shape the public images.

Framework

1. Council—the decision-making body for major issues of the research institute, mainly in charge of examining and approving the institute’s construction planning, annual plans, annual financial budget and final accounts and other important issues.It can put forward guideline opinions and opinions on the works of decision-making and consultation for the institute, consisting of some representatives specialized in departments of the legal practice, colleges and universities, academics, business and laywers and so on. The director: Mr Lin Xiang-guo  (President of Jiangsu Law Society); Vice President: Prof. Gong Pi-xiang(deputy director of the Standing Committee of the National People' s Congress in Jiangsu Province); Prof. Xia Jin-wen (Secretary of the CPC Zhenjiang Municipal Party Committee); Prof. Cai Lin-hui (former vice President of Nanjing Normal University), Prof. Liu  Wang-hong (vice President of the Academy of Social Sciences in Jiangsu province), and Prof. Cai Dao-tong (the dean of the law school of Nanjing Normal University).

2.Expert Advisory Committee—the expert advisory body of the institute, is mainly responsible for providing advisory opinions on construction planning, annual plan and the key consulting projects of law decision-makings. It consists of some domestic famous jurists such as Prof. Zhang Wen-xian  (full-time vice president of China law society, vice-chairman of academic board); the vice chairman of the committee: Prof. Hu Yun-teng(full-time member in vice-ministerial level in the Supreme People's Court trial committee, secondary lord chancellor and the chief judge of the second circuit court).

3.Academy Committee—the consulting and evaluation agency of the research institute, is mainly responsible for reviewing the plans,annual projects and important findings of consulting research,etc. The committee is composed of several famous experts and scholars. Chairman of committee:  Prof. Xia Jin-wen; Vice Chairman: Prof. Li Hao, Prof. Liu Wang-hong, Prof. Zhou You-yong , Prof. Hu Yu-hong  and Prof.  Cai Bao-gang.

4. The dean who leads the institute assumes overall responsibility for the work of it. And there are several deputy deans to help him. The dean:  Prof. Gong Pi-xiang ; The deputy deans: Prof. Xia Jin-wen , Prof. Gong Ting-tai , Prof.Li Li, Prof.Li Hao, Prof. Cai Dao-tong and Prof. Sui Hong-ming .

5: The institute has six sub-institutes and one research center.

 (1) Institute of Strategies of Law Development

Director: Professor Gong Pi-xiang

Deputy Director: Professor Jiang Tao

Main Contents: deep exploration to the global modernization process since modern times, revealing the relationship between the modernization of society and the rule-of-law, comparing with analysis on the process of the legal modernization in different types of  countries, deep researches on the process of legal modernization in Chinese history and grasping the basic regular patterns of it, demonstration and interpretation on the intrinsic necessity and underlying the type of Chinese modernization model on the rule-of-law, deep studies on the development strategies of the construction of rule-of-law in China on the account of two goals in one hundred years, systematic explorations on the standards of Chinese and her regional modernization in law.

 (2) Institute of Legislation Development

Director: Researcher Liu Ke-xi

Deputy Director: Associate Professor Tang Shan-peng

Main contents: deep analysis on the new situations, tasks and requirements of Chinese legislation after the accomplishment of socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, systematic explorations on the realization of the rule of conscience law and solutions to the urgent problems in such an accomplished system, investigations on the actual conditions of scientific and democratic legislation(SDL) in China, systematic studies on SDL system construction, discussions on the new tasks and requirements of the Chinese legislation in the frame of new legislation law, researches on how to strengthen and improve the regional legislation.

 (3) Institute of Government by Law

Deputy Director: Professor Yang Deng-feng

Main Contents: explorations the key directions to the construction of Government by Law  and basic theories of it, studies and suggestions on the important issues to the reform of Chinese administration and its enforcement, researches on the important influences of legalization of the contemporary Chinese administrative procedures to the construction of Government by Law .

 (4) Institute of Judicial Reform and Modernization

Director: Professor Tian Xing

Deputy Director: Professor  Li Jian-min

Main Contents: studies on the basic theories, history and characteristics of Chinese judicial modernization, analysis and suggestions on the important problems in the process of a new round of judicial reform in China, explorations on the ways and methods in the improvement of public credibility to the judiciary.

 (5) Institute of Society Governed  by Law

Director: Professor GongTing-tai

Deputy Director: Professor Pang Zheng

Main Contents: exploring the basic theories of Society Governed  by Law and discussions on the characteristics of that kind of society in China; knowing the choices to the construction mode of Chinese Society Governed  by Law and ways and solutions to it; exploration on the rule-of-law basis of social governing system innovation; suggestions to the governance according to the law in multiple levels and fields.

 (6) Institute of the Regional Rule-of-Law Development  

Director: Researcher Zhu Hua-ren

Deputy Director: Associate Professor Ni Fei

Main contents: studying the basic theories of regional rule-of-law development(RRLD) in the process of “China ruled of law”, and strengthening the research on synergic mechanism between national and regional rule of law; further studying the dynamic mechanism of RRLD in contemporary China, and strengthen the offering of policy advice to the construction and development of regional rule of law (RRL), further studying the significant legal issues in the implementation progress of important national strategies concerning regional development, such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional cooperative development strategy, the Yangtze River Economic Zone development strategy, the Yangtze River Delta regional integration strategy, and strengthening the offering of policy advice to legal issues in the overall strategy of regional development; further studyingthe basic theories and primary experience of the national rule of law development(NRLD), and strengthening the offering of policy advice to the construction of NRLD.

(7) Research Center of Investigations on the National Rule of Law Conditions

Director: Professor Li Li

Deputy Director: Associate Professor  Zhang-Lei

Main contents: Further study the basic theories and methods on the investigations on the National Rule of Law Conditions, construct the research framework ,further study the crucial issues and main tasks, elaborately design the parameter system, Regularly carry out the in-depth comprehensive assessment, project assessment and regional assessment of the rule of law development of national and regional modernization, as well as the satisfaction survey of regional rule of law work, continually conduct the investigation and release work of the China's annual top ten rule of law influential incidents.