The Association mourns the passing of Professor Mingxuan Gao, Honorary Vice-President of the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP) and Honorary President of its Chinese National Group. A recipient of China’s national title “People’s Educator,” he was a distinguished jurist, a pioneering scholar of criminal law in the People’s Republic of China, Honorary President of the China Society of Criminal Law, and Honorary First-Class Professor at Renmin University of China. He was also the Honorary Dean of the College for Criminal Law Science of Beijing Normal University.

Professor Gao played a decisive role in bringing Chinese criminal law into the international arena. He initiated cooperation between the AIDP and the China Law Society in 1987 and led the establishment of the AIDP Chinese National Group. He served as AIDP Vice-President from 1999 to 2009 and held leading roles within the Chinese National Group for over two decades. Under his leadership, Beijing hosted the 17th International Congress of Penal Law in 2004, a landmark event that significantly advanced China’s engagement with the global criminal law community. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Cesare Beccaria Medal in 2015—the first Asian scholar to receive this distinction—and an honorary doctorate from Waseda University in 2016.

Professor Gao made historic contributions to China’s criminal legislation. He was the only criminal law scholar involved throughout the entire drafting process of the country’s first Criminal Code, working from 1954 to its promulgation in 1979. He also played a key role in the comprehensive revision leading to the 1997 Criminal Law. His advocacy for the principle of legality marked a decisive step in the modernization and rule-of-law development of Chinese criminal law. The evolution of China’s criminal legislation and its interpretative framework bear the enduring imprint of his scholarship and dedication.

Professor Gao was also an enthusiast of Beijing Opera. He performed and recorded a CD of his work. Many AIDP members keep a fond memory of his performance at the closing ceremony of the XIXth International Congress of Penal Law in Rio de Janeiro in 2014.