Chen Lung-chu (

traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 陳隆志;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Chén Lóngzhì''; born 30 December 1935) is a Taiwanese legal scholar. He is a professor emeritus at

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

, the founder of the Taiwan New Century Foundation, and chairman of the Taiwan Society of International Law.

Early life and education

Chen was born to Su-ton and Lai-chu (Huang) Chen in

Madou District Madou District () is a District (Taiwan), district of about 43,071 residents in Tainan, Taiwan. It owes its name to the Siraya language word ''Moatau'' or ''Mattou''. ''Mattau'' was one of the four core Siraya people, Sirayan villages during muc ...

Tainan County Tainan County was a County (Taiwan), county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Xinying District, Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () sh ...

, Taiwan, on 30 December 1935. After graduating as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

from

National Tainan First Senior High School The National Tainan First Senior High School () is a public senior high school in East District, Tainan, East District, Tainan, Taiwan. It was established in 1922 and is considered one of the most prestigious high schools in Taiwan, usually only a ...

, he studied law at

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

(NTU), where he was a student of legal scholar Peng Ming-min. Chen graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' and first in his class from NTU with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LL.B.) in 1958 and then pursued graduate studies in the United States at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, first on a Ford Foundation Fellowship from 1960 to 1961, then on a Yale Fellowship from 1961 to 1964. After receiving his

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LL.M.) from the

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. The law school is located on the univer ...

in 1961, Chen entered

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, where he earned a second LL.M. degree in 1962 and a

Doctor of Juridical Science A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. In most countries, it is the most advanced law degree that can be earned. Australia ...

(J.S.D.) in 1964.

Career

After obtaining his doctorate, Chen was a

research associate Research associates are researchers (scholars and professionals) that usually have an advanced degree beyond a Bachelor's degree such as a master's degree or a PhD. In some universities/research institutes, such as Harvard/Harvard Medical Scho ...

at Yale Law School from 1964 to 1977, and was a senior research associate there from 1973 to 1977. Chen is an elected life member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

.{{Cite web , last= , first= , title=Life Member: Professor Lung-chu Chen , url=https://www.ali.org/members/member/102386/ , access-date=2025-01-03 , website= , publisher=

, language=en

Awards and honors

* Second Class Order of the Brilliant Star (awarded on May 13, 2008, at the

Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

)

References

1935 births Yale Law School alumni Taiwanese jurists Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni National Taiwan University alumni Living people