Establishing an environmental law clinic in China: A review of relevant factors and various models

This paper looks at the factors which affect the establishment of Environmental Law Clinics (ELCs) with a particular focus on models that might be most effective in a Chinese context. The paper is the result of desktop research and a clinical program where five law students and one supervising academic from an Australian Law school attended a Chinese law school in early December 2016. During the visit, Australian law students conducted a workshop with Chinese law students as well as visited several NGOs in Wuhan and Beijing to grasp a better understanding of the environmental issues the country faces. The observations in this paper are preliminary in nature and further discussion of educational goals and community needs will be required before settling on a particular model. Brief recommendations and a list of relevant factors for consideration for Chinese ELCs are provided at the end of the paper.