In the evening of September 3rd, 2014, Professor Sachin S. Pandya from the University of Connecticut School of Law visited UIBE Law School and gave a special lecture in the Moot Court room for the students. Deputy Dean of Law School, Professor Su Haopeng, Professor Li Jun and Associate Professor Chen Hangping attended the lecture.

Professor Pandya received his Ph.D from Yale University, and his Master Degree of Social Science from Columbia University. After law school, he has worked as a clerk for Chief Judge Newman of Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and as the Assistant Attorney General of New York Attorney General’s Office. His main research fields are the development of American Tort Law, the U.S. liability insurance market and American employment law.

Professor Pandya was invited to Beijing by the AQSIQ in order to participate in our academic activities in “QualityMonth”. At the invitation of Professor Li Jun of the Law School, he made a special trip to UIBE Law School to give a featured lecture for our students. The theme was: “U.S. Product Liability Law and Product Safety Law”.

The lecture was chaired by Professor Li Jun. Before the lecture, Professor Su Haopeng,Deputy Dean of the Law School,gave the welcome remarks and presented a souvenir to Professor Pandya on behalf of Law School.

The lecture began to warm applause. Professor Pandya vividly introduced the basic situation of American product liabilitylaw and product safety law through a description of cases involving General Motors Corporation cars which were sold withflawed ignition devices. Professor Pandya illustrated the issues from five angles, namely product liability, product safety,Consumer Product Safety Act, determing causal relationship as well as information disclosure, respectively.

In the discussion on product liability, Professor Pandya described the sources of law, and the differences betweennegligence, strict liability, and prior warning. In discussing product safety, he introduced American product safety regulatoryagencies, civil and criminal compensation, and product recalls.  In the discussion on the Consumer Product Safety Act, Professor Pandya emphasized the wide definition of “consumer goods”, and he raised the question whether a roller coaster is a “consumer goods”.  In a lively interaction with teachers and students, the answer he save was that a roller coaster was a“consumer good”, which triggered deeper thinking for many students.

    Professor Pandya also described the consumer goods quality certification test methods, certification by third-party inspection agencies and other aspects. In the discussion of causal relationships, Professor Pandya highlighted the sources of data used in the evaluation of injury and inadequacy of some sources. Finally, Professor Pandya pointed out that public disclosure of information should include not only information, but also include information on how to make the public understand information. He vividly explained the importance of public understanding of published information with the example of theLos Angeles restaurant quality evaluation system.

    After the speech, students actively raised questions. The topics included the principle of causal relationship, liabilityexemptions of American product manufacturers, burden of proof in product defects cases, the market of low-cost and low-quality products, and the handling measures of injuries caused without prior warning. Professor Pandya answered eachquestion in detail.

The lecture ended with warm applause.