Reforming Civil and Criminal Justice Systems

Team

Ira Belkin

Program Officer Beijing

Ira Belkin works on law and rights issues from the foundation's Beijing office. His grant making supports Chinese institutions working to build the Chinese legal system, to strengthen the rule of law and to enhance the protection of citizens' rights, especially the rights of vulnerable groups.

Before coming to the foundation in 2007, Ira combined a career as an American lawyer and federal prosecutor with a deep interest in China, and spent seven years working to promote the rule of law in China. His appointments included two tours at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and a year as a fellow at the Yale Law School China Law Center.

Previously, he was a federal prosecutor in Providence, R.I., where he was chief of the criminal division, and in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he was deputy chief of the general crimes unit.

Before attending law school, Ira taught Chinese language at Middlebury College. He has lectured extensively in Chinese to Chinese audiences on the U.S. criminal justice system and to American audiences on the Chinese legal reform movement. He has a J.D. from New York University School of Law, a master's degree in Chinese studies from Seton Hall University and a bachelor's degree from SUNY Albany.