JRC is one of the National Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences ratified by the Ministry of Education and its predecessor is the Institute of Legal Science Research, Jilin University. The year 1988 witnessed the founding of the Institute of Legal Science Research with as its main body the discipline of legal theory, and in 1999 this Institute was renamed JRC after the personnel regroupment as well as the organizational reform. In Sep.2000, JRC was ratified by the Ministry of Education as one of the National Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences in Universities after the assessment and scrutiny by experts and scholars from all over China and through strict procedures of appraisement and examination as well as on-the-spot explorations and reviews. In the year 2002, the discipline of legal theory was ratifies as the National Key Discipline and in 2003, JRC was ratifies as Post Doctorate Research Center of Law by the Ministry of Personnel and National Council of Post Doctorate. In the year 2004, JRC was approved as Excellent Research Center in the evaluation of the National Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences by the Ministry of Education. In the same year, the research program “the Base of Innovation in Law and Economic Globalization” was initiated in Jilin University 985 National Platform of Innovation in Philosophical and Social Sciences with the integration of researchers and research resources of disciplines like legal theory, political theory, legal economics, international politics and world economics. In the year 2007, the discipline of legal theory of JRC was again ratified as the National Key Discipline by the Ministry of Education. The goal of JRC is to build a center of research, of education and training, of academic exchange and communication, and of information and consultation services in the area of legal theory, which enjoys national lead and international influence.
    The director of JRC is Prof. Zhang Wenxian, a prestigious jurist of China. Our academic staff consists of the full-time and program-based researchers and the members of our academic committee are all excellent research talents. JRC has 38 full-time and part-time researchers, among which are 21 professors, 19 supervisors of Ph. D. candidates, 1 member of the Committee of Academic Degrees of the State Council, 1 “National Young Scholar with Outstanding Contributions” by the Ministry of Personnel, 2 Experts of Jilin Province, 1 “National Talent” in the “One Hundred, One Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project” by the Ministry of Personnel and other six Ministries and Commissions, 1 winner of the honor of “National Excellent Teacher”, 2 researchers supported by the Trans－Century Training Program Foundation for the Talents sponsored by the State Education Commission for humanities and social sciences, 2 researchers Supported by Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, 2 nominees of “Excellent Young Jurists”, 1 winner of the honor of “Excellent Young Jurist”, 2 researchers supported by the Huo Yingdong Foundation for Young Teachers, and 1 researcher supported by Baosteel Education Fund for Excellent Teachers. In the long process of cooperation and research, researchers in JRC form similar theoretical taste, research paradigm and social responsibility and they become an academic group enjoying considerable influence home and abroad.
    Since the founding of the National Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, JRC has achieved great research achievements and has sponsored many influential academic activities.
    In terms of scientific research, since the year 2000, researchers in JRC has assumed16 national programs, 27 ministerial programs and 19 provincial programs, and the fund granted for disciplinary construction amounts to over 20 million CNY. More than 130 academic monographs, translations and textbooks have been published together with over 520 pieces of academic papers. These research results exert sound academic influence in China and some of them even have international influence and catch international attention. These research achievements have won 30 prizes above provincial level. 
    In terms of talent training, JRC has two master programs, namely legal theory and history of law, and 4 Ph. D. programs consisting of legal theory, history of law, economics of law and law and politics. JRC sponsors plenty of academic activities, including “Front Forum for Ph. D. Candidates”, “Forum of Jurisprudence in Real Life”, “Xiaonanhu Reading Group”, “Intensive Reading of Classics”, “Saloon of JM Candidates”, etc. JRC supports young researchers to participate extensively in academic conferences home and abroad for academic exchange. As a center for the training of legal talents, JRC produces a great number of JM and Ph. D. graduates for colleges and universities, research institutes and sectors of practitioners. JRC has sponsored “Summer School of Front Matters in Western Legal Philosophy” for two times, training young researchers and talents for the studies of western legal philosophy. 
    In terms of disciplinary construction and legal education, JRC has performed effective educational reform and has compiled and edited suitable textbooks. The course of “jurisprudence” was ratified as National Quality Course and our educational reform presided by Prof. Zhang Wenxian won the National Prize for Educational Achievement for 4 times. The “project of the implementation of educational reform in China’s legal education” co-authored by Prof. Zhang Wenxian and Prof. Zeng Xianyi from Renmin University of China won the National First Award for Teaching Achievements in the year 2005. Jurisprudence whose compilation was presided over by Prof. Zhang Wenxian was ratifies as National Key Textbook in the 9th, 10th and 11th Five-year Plans and “Quality Course Book for Colleges and Universities” by the Ministry of Education in 2002, it won the first prize of “Excellent Textbook for Colleges and Universities” and in the year 2007 it was ratifies as National Quality Course Book. Jurisprudence: Marxist Theory, Methods and points of Law, and Jurisprudence the first prize for national textbook of law and research achievements by the Ministry of Justice by Prof. Zhang Wenxian was recommended by the Ministry of Education as course book for graduates of law, and its wide circulation and use exert far-reaching effects. 
    In terms of academic exchange, JRC has sponsored “Lectures of Contemporary Well-known Scholars of Legal Science”, “Overseas Scholars’ Lectures”, “Academic Roundtable of Law”, “Forum of Young Scholars”, etc and invites invited dozens of scholars well-known home and abroad to give lectures in Jilin University. JRC has also sponsored large-scale academic conferences such as “Nordic-China Seminar on International Human Rights Law”, “China’s Approach to the Rule of Law and the Professional Community of Law”, “Reflection and Prospects of China’s Legal Science”, “Summer School of Front Matters in Western Legal Philosophy”, etc., thus enhancing the academic communication between home and abroad. JRC supports its researchers to attend international and domestic academic conferences, and as a result, researchers of JRC have been to well-known colleges and universities of U.S.A., G. B., Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, etc. for academic research and studies and have kept contact with their foreign peers on a constant basis. 
    In terms of the construction of academic journals and information network, JRC has sponsored and initiated Law and Social Development CSSCI journal, Series on Jurisprudence yearly journal of jurisprudence, Yearly Journal of Studies on Western Legal Philosophers, and Front Forum on Legal Theories Law and China, Jurisprudence in Real Life, etc. and plans to publish Library Series of JRC. JRS hosts China’s only website on legal theories “Information Network of JRC” http://www.legaltheory.com.cn/ and its subnets “Zhenglai Online”, “Literature Search Center”, “Video Network”, “Net Library”, “Database of Globalization Studies”, “Database of Marxist Legal Science” and is a subscriber to LexisNexis Database. The library of JRC is proud of its extensive collection of books and journals. 
    In terms of consultation service, JRC provides organs of our government and the CPC with constructive advices by various means and many of the advices and suggestions are adopted and thus exerting far-reaching influence on the formation of policies and our social development.