A Study On The Legal Education Of St.John’s University

St.John’s University is one of the famous missionary universities in China.It has been teaching public international law since the end of the 19 th century,and it can be regarded as the forerunner of legal education in Shanghai.Soochow University and St.John’s University discussed the joint establishment of a law school,but due to St.John’s consideration of the current situation and the opposition of the Bishop of Shanghai,St.John’s University has never been able to establish an independent law school to carry out systematic legal education.However,after learning from the American school-running model,St.John’s University tried to offer legal courses under the Department of Political Science in order to cultivate outstanding political talents with legal literacy.Focusing on the training objectives,the legal education of the Political Department of St.John’s University has always focused on international law,constitution and administrative law.The course of international law focuses on the combination with current international politics and diplomacy,emphasizes the case study of current affairs,and gradually sets up the curriculum,forming a curriculum arrangement from entry to high-level.International law and constitution are legal courses that are more influenced by politics.Their course content and textbook selection have experienced a process from learning from the United States to the Soviet Union.The teachers of the Department of politics of St.John’s University are mainly foreign teachers and St.John’s alumni who have studied in Europe and America and obtained the master’s degree of international top universities.They have a compound background of politics,diplomacy and law.From the 10 th to the mid-1930 s,the teaching mode and content of law curriculum mainly drew lessons from the United States,and the teachers were also dominated by foreign teaching;From the mid-1930 s to 1952,the influence of Soviet law on the teaching materials and curriculum planning of the law course of St.John’s University was deepening,and the teaching staff was gradually localized.In addition,the school library also provides students with a wealth of legal documents,especially international law and constitution.Students have also written some legal academic articles by studying the knowledge of legal courses and reading legal documents outside class.The topics of the articles mainly focus on jurisprudence,judicial system and public law.Although the number of such legal academic articles is small and the overall academic level is not superb,it can also reflect the students’ legal thinking about social phenomena.In general,different from the special law school,the law course of St.John’s University is not in the core position,but subsidiary and supplementary,which serves the cultivation of political talents.The enlightening legal education of St.John’s University is effective.Most of the graduates of St.John’s University who study law abroad choose international law,constitution and administrative law.After returning from their studies,they play an important role in the fields of politics,diplomacy,law and education.