On 15 May 2021, the inauguration ceremony of the Wuhan Research Base of the Case Law Research Society of the China Law Society and the Uniform Summit Forum on the Application of Law in Flexible Employment Cases of Platform Enterprises, jointly organized by the Hubei Provincial High People's Court and Wuhan University, was successfully held at Wuhan University.

The Forum was co-organised by the Hubei Provincial High People's Court and Wuhan University, under the guidance of the Case Law Research Society of the Chinese Law Society, and was specifically organised by Wuhan University Law School, Wuhan University Institute of Network Governance and Wuhan University Judicial Case Research Centre. The forum was strongly supported by Hubei Shanhe Law Firm and Beijing Jintai (Wuhan) Law Firm. A total of about 70 guests attended the forum.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Prof. Luo Kun, Director of Wuhan University Judicial Case Research Centre. Prof. Luo introduced the purpose of the forum, which is to explore new directions and models of quality academic legal resources serving judicial practice in the context of the judicial accountability system, and to promote the uniform application of law in such cases through two levels of mechanisms and typical topics.

Liu Shude, Deputy Director of the Trial Management Office of the Supreme People's Court, Hu Yunteng, President of the Case Law Research Society of the Chinese Law Society, You Quanrong, Secretary of the Party Group and President of the Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court, Xu Yeqin, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Wuhan University, and Feng Guo, Dean of the Law School, attended and delivered speeches.

Xu Yeqin, Vice President of Wuhan University, pointed out in his speech that the value and role of cases are being increasingly emphasized, and the study of case law is bound to be fruitful. The convening of this forum will provide important intellectual support for solving judicial practice problems, exploring the establishment of a mechanism to protect the labour rights and interests of practitioners in new industries and optimising the business environment.

Hu Yunteng, President of the Case Law Research Society of the Chinese Law Society, pointed out that strengthening case studies and unifying the application of law is not only a unique legal and cultural tradition in China, but also a matter of the concept of the rule of law and legal values. Through case studies, it helps to promote the unification of the concept of the rule of law, the unification of standards for the application of law, the unification of standards for the determination of legal relations and facts, and the unification of adjudication results. President Hu also proposed that it is important to deeply understand the importance of uniform application of laws on flexible employment in platform enterprises, and to make up for the lack of relevant legal systems through uniform application of laws.

President You Quanrong of the Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court pointed out that judicial cases have deep roots in Chinese culture and practice of rule of law, and are an important part of rule of law awareness and concept, as well as an important yardstick and measure for the people's understanding and evaluation of rule of law construction. The provincial court, together with Wuhan University, will undertake the functional tasks of the research base, and at the same time implore the experts and scholars to give full play to their advantages and form more valuable judicial products, so as to make greater contributions to promoting the unified implementation of the legal system, the unified application of laws and the comprehensive rule of law.

Liu Shude, Deputy Director of the Trial Management Office of the Supreme People's Court, firstly expressed his warm congratulations on the holding of this summit. Director Liu said that the inconsistent application of the law is an important problem plaguing the judiciary, and the Supreme Court and courts across the country have attached great importance to this problem and made a series of attempts, but there are still many problems that need to be solved. Director Liu believed that there is still a lot of road to go on the journey to achieve uniformity in the application of law in such cases.

Feng Guo, Dean of Wuhan University Law School, expressed his gratitude, and said that Wuhan University Law School is at a new historical stage of development. Looking back on its history, the achievements of Wuhan University Law School could not have been achieved without the help and support of the Supreme People's Court, courts at all levels in Hubei Province, and experts and scholars. The establishment of the Wuhan Research Base of the Case Law Society of the Chinese Law Society in Wuhan is a vote of confidence in the Wuhan University Law School. He hoped that all the participants would pay attention to the teaching reform of Wuhan University Law School and promote empirical research using cases as an entry point.

After the speech, Prof. Liang Xin, Secretary General of the Case Law Research Society of the Chinese Law Society, read out the establishment decision. You Quanrong, Secretary of the Party Group and President of the Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court, served as the Director of the Base; Prof. Feng Guo, Dean of Wuhan University Law School, Li Qunxing, Member of the Party Group and Vice President of the Hubei Higher People's Court, and Prof. Xu Deyu, Dean of the Law School of Central South University of Economics and Law, served as the Deputy Directors of the Base; Prof. Luo Kun, Director of Wuhan University Judicial Case Research Centre, served as the Secretary General of the Base. The secretariat of the base is located at the Wuhan University Law School.

Hu Yunteng, President of the Case Law Research Society of the Chinese Law Society, Liu Shude, Deputy Director of the Trial Management Office of the Supreme People's Court, Li Qunxing, Member of the Party Group and Vice President of the Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court, and Feng Guo, Dean of Wuhan University Law School, jointly inaugurated the Research Base. Afterwards, the experts conducted a seminar on relevant topics.

Edited by Yuan Yuhang & Wu Liuqing