From 9:00 to 11:00 on December 24, 2023, the inaugural meeting of the Criminal Defense Research Association of Guangzhou Law Society (hereinafter referred to as "the Criminal Defense Research Association") was grandly held at the South Congress International Convention Center in Guangzhou University Town. This association marks the first academic research institution in the field of lawyering established nationwide, signaling a new stage in the research of criminal defense in Guangzhou. The establishment of the Research Association aims to promote theoretical research and legal practice development in the field of criminal defense, contributing to the construction of a law-abiding Guangzhou.
More than 70 scholars engaged in criminal law research and legal practitioners from relevant universities in Guangdong Province participated in this conference. Professor Zhang Yongzhong, Vice President of the Guangdong Law Society and Dean of the School of Law at South China Normal University, Comrade Zhang Qiuhua, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the Guangzhou Law Society, and Professor Xu Songlin, former Dean of the School of Law at South China University of Technology, attended the event and delivered speeches.
The conference unanimously voted to approve the constitution of the Criminal Defense Research Association and elected the first council president, vice-president, secretary-general, deputy secretary-general, executive directors, and council members of the association. Lawyer Yang Aibin, chairman of the partnership meeting of Guangdong Hebang Law Firm, was appointed as an advisor to the association. Professor Wang Shuiming from the School of Law of South China Normal University was elected as the first council president of the association, Professor Pan Xingcheng from the School of Law of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies was elected as the executive vice-president, and 10 individuals including Professor Nie Lize from the School of Law of Sun Yat-sen University and vice-president of the Criminal Law Research Association of Guangdong Law Society, Professor Zhou Shaohua, vice dean of the School of Law of Guangzhou University, and Lawyer Huang Aihua, senior partner and executive director of Guangdong Hebang Law Firm, were elected as vice-presidents. Lawyer Rao Jun, a partner of Guangdong Hebang Law Firm, was elected as a council member. We hereby extend our warm congratulations to all the elected colleagues.
The realization of Chinese path to modernization cannot be separated from the modernization of the rule of law, and the high-quality development of criminal defense will effectively promote the realization of the modernization of the rule of law. Criminal defense itself is an art of pursuing justice, worthy of in-depth study. Our firm will strengthen exchanges with the Criminal Defense Research Association of the Guangzhou Law Society, promote organizational construction, adhere to the combination of theory and practice, actively carry out academic exchanges and theoretical research in the field of criminal defense, and promote the development of theoretical and practical research in criminal defense. Guangdong Hebang Law Firm will also uphold the scientific attitude of integrating theory with practice, unite and organize our criminal defense lawyers, carry out theoretical and practical research in criminal defense, and make due contributions to creating a good criminal legal environment.
