Elections and the Rule of Law – 8th Summer Lecture on Comparative Constitutional Law at Peking University

The "Summer Lecture on Comparative Constitutional Law" was developed by Peking University in collaboration with the KAS Rule of Law Programme Asia, during the first years of the Programme's existence. A key thrust of this annual lecture series is to train young Chinese lecturers and scholars of constitutional law, recognizing that the Constitution is the highest law of the land, and to stress the importance of establishing strong legal structures that respect and promote the principles of the rule of law.

Each year, the participants seek to gain a better understanding of the constitutional structures that prevail in the countries of the Asian region and beyond. In doing so, it is hoped that this will further inspire them to undertake comparative studies in this critical area of the rule of law. In addition, participants who are are also lecturers and professors at the various tertiary institutions serve as multipliers by integrating these findings into their research and teaching. By focusing on electoral matters for this year's lecture, one of the main objectives of the event was to heighten the participants' awareness of their rights and obligations as citizens, and to stress that their voices and opinions matter in bringing about legal and political transformations in their society.