 The UK House of Lords considered that "the creation of the China-EU School of Law (CESL) in 2008 was the first attempt to institutionalise legal cooperation" between China and the West.CESL was the first law school in China approved by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China under the Sino-foreign jointly administered schools agreement.CESL’s purpose is to create a platform for European scholars and students to understand Chinese law, for Chinese legal scholars and students to understand the European and international legal systems, as well as to support the Chinese Government in its effort to develop a society based on the rule of law.