The Chinese Connection

In 1998, Judge Ginger Berrigan traveled to China as a member of a delegation that met with judges of the Shanghai High People's Court in order to establish relations with the Chinese judiciary and become familiar with how the court system operates in China.  The delegation was sponsored by the private, nonprofit National Committee on United States-China Relations [1].


Judges Ginger Berrigan and Zhang Jun Comrades in arms: Tulane adjunct professor, the Hon. Ginger Berrigan, and Zhang Jun, chief judge of the No. 2 Court, Shanghai High People's Court of China [1].

In February, 2001, a reciprocal delegation, primarily from the Shanghai High People's Court, traveled to the U.S. with support from the Ford Foundation to become familiar with U.S. court management practices and judicial ethics.  The group of seven judges, which included a representative from the Sichuan Provincial High People's Court, visited several cities including New Orleans, where they were hosted by Judge Berrigan.  Accounts of the trip have been published [1,2].

The success of the trip prompted another round of visits starting with Berrigan's trip to China in October, 2004, sponsored by the National Committee on United States-China Relations [3].

Beyond China, Berrigan has relished interacting with jurists from other countries, and in 2011 she made several trips to Pakistan to help train new judges there.  Her experiences were the subject of a lecture delivered at Tulane's Eason Weinmann Center [4].

Judge Ginger Berrigan in Pakistan
Judge Berrigan shares her wisdom with delegates from Pakistan, a nation rooted in Islamic law.  Photo courtesy of Louisiana State University.


References
  1. Helen Ginger Berrigan, "I Think This is the Start of a Beautiful Friendship," Notes from The National Committee on United States-China Relations, New York, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2001), p. 4.

  2. Annual Report 2001, National Committee on United States-China Relations, New York, August 2002, p. 8.

  3. Tina Soong, "Local federal judge visits China, lawyers," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, February 3, 2005, p. 4A1.

  4. Helen Ginger Berrigan, "A Very Basic Primer on Pakistan," Louisiana Judicial College, February, 2012.



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