Although when the 22nd Congress on the Law of the World was held in Beijing, Mr. Cohen was not present, he mailed his paper to the special seminar about international investment law and Multinational Corporation law, which our school undertook. Mr. Cohen arrived at China so many times that even he by himself does not know how many times he has come here.

Mr. Cohen came to China with an important arrangement this time, which was different from prior times. He will accept the appointment letter of honorary professor about CUPL and will give the academic lecture, the topic of which is “the American lawyer’s multiple roles”.

Mr. Cohen -- the Honorary Professor of CUPL

On September 27th, 2005, Mr. Cohen, the professor of New York University Law School, came to our university’s campus located in Xue Yuan Road and gave an academic lecture.

President Xu Xianming, on behalf of China University of Political Science and Law, awarded Mr. Cohen an appointment letter of the honorary professor of CUPL. The president pointed out that, there are three main reasons for giving this honor to Mr. Cohen. First, Mr. Cohen is the trailblazer in America who researched on Chinese Law very early. He founded The East Asian Legal Studies Program in Harvard when he was the sub decanal in Harvard University Law School. Besides, He is still the authority on Chinese Law hitherto; Second, Mr. Cohen is the man who started the legal communion between China and the USA. Up to the present, many Chinese scholars still benefit from the Committee of Legal Communication between China and the USA, whose initiator was Mr. Cohen. Third, Mr. Cohen is the advancer of the relationship between China and the USA. The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, as well as China’s comeback to U.N. as the permanent member of the Security Council, can be contributed to his hard work. “Due to the reasons mentioned above, we have the honor of inviting Mr. Cohen to be our honorary professor”, said President Xu.

As early as 1979, Professor Cohen had visited our university. Thereafter, during twenty years, he visited our university many a time and had a close contact with several professors here.

After the ceremony, Professor Cohen gave his academic lecture “The Multiple Roles of American Lawyers”. Then series academic activities provided by School of American and Comparative Law were begun with his lecture. Mr. Cohen met Xu Chuanxi (Stephen Hsu), the dean of School of American and Comparative Law in Harvard 1996. Then they keep close contact with each other ever since. Stephen Hsu worked in Paul，Weiss，Rifkind，Wharton & Ggrrison law firm during 1999 to 2001, when Mr. Cohen was one of this law firm’s partners. In the spring of 2001, Stephen Hsu, conjunct with Cohen, offered a seminar《Chinese Law and Society》in New York University Law School.

“Most People thought I was insane”

After graduating from Department of Political Science in Yale University, Mr. Cohen got his Bachelor of Art in 1951; from 1951 till 1952, as a Fulbright Scholar, he studied in E.M Lyon, France, after which he entered Yale University Law School, where he graduated as the best student and got a J.D. degree in 1955. From 1955 to 1956, Mr. Cohen took charge of the assistant of Earl Warren, the Chief Justice, and the clerk of Felix Frankfurter, the Associate Justice in Supreme Court of the United States. In 1958，Mr. Cohen came to University of California at Berkeley School of Law to serve as an assistant professor. Then his teaching career began.

Because of the cold war at that time, it was so difficult to come to the mainland of China that he could rarely do any research on Chinese law, “so many people thought I was not in my right mind”

Study Chinese at thirty years old

The initial research topic Mr. Cohen chose is Chinese criminal legal system. Mr. Cohen had spent three years in studying Chinese before getting to Hon Kong. He remembered clearly that the age when he began his learning was thirty. In Hon Kong He interviewed many people came from mainland, based on which he wrote out a book on Chinese law.

The forerunner in normalizing relations with China and America

Xu Xianming, President of China University of Political Science and Law, pointed out that, Mr. Cohen deserves the honor because he is an eager advocate in normalizing relations with China and America. For his great contribution, Cohen is recognized as the Chinese people’s good friend.

“All the Chinese law department professors I had visited are not willing to speak.”

In 1972, Mr. Cohen arrived at mainland of china for the first time, when it was too hard to get knowledge about this country because of the domestic politics situation. Even all the Chinese professors of law department are not willing to speak.

“close foreign friend” about Chinese law

When the Open-door policy was carried out in 1978, Cohen played a very import role in enhancing the friendship and advancing the legal communion between China and the U.S.A, as of the reform on tax law of China, the communion on legal policy between two countries, and the cooperation in China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Studies the socialist legal system especially

Mr. Cohen was one of the earliest foreign attorneys admitted by new China. In addition, he devotes himself in teaching and studying Chinese law and founded the Asian law research center in New York University Law School. Now, Mr. Cohen has understood the Chinese society's development profoundly by researching on the socialism legal system.

Mr. Cohen sits here again. We are looking for his next arrival and anticipate that he will give the remarkable instruction and make great contribution for our university’s legal science education.