Asian Discourses of Rule of Law / Edition 1

by Randall Peerenboom

Overview

Rule of law is one of the pillars of the modern world, and widely considered necessary for sustained economic development, the implementation of democracy and the protection of human rights. It has however emerged in Western liberal democracies, and some people question how far it is likely to take root fully in the different cultural, economic and political context of Asia. This book considers how rule of law is viewed and implemented in Asia. Chapters on France and the USA provide a benchmark on how the concept has evolved, is applied and is implemented in a civil law and a common law jurisdiction. These are then followed by twelve chapters on the major countries of East Asia, and India, which consider all the key aspects of this important issue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415326131
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/18/2003
Series:	Routledge Law in Asia
Pages:	498
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Randall Peerenboom is a Professor of Law at UCLA Law School. He obtained a B.A. in Philosophy, M.A. in Chinese Religion and Ph.D. in Philosophy before obtaining a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He has written extensively on Chinese law and philosophy. From 1994 to 1998, he practiced law with a major international law firm in Beijing. In addition to advising on various aspects of foreign investment in China, he often serves as an expert witness on PRC legal issues and is Of Counsel at Yiwen Law Firm. He is now working on a study of the relation between culture and human rights; an empirical survey of supervision of the judiciary in the PRC; and a philosophical exploration of a form of Confucian collectivism as an alternative to western liberal democracy.

Table of Contents

1. Varieties of Rule of Law: An Introduction 2. Rule of Law in the United States 3. Rule of Law in France 4. Competing Conceptions of Rule of Law in China 5. Conceptions of Rule of Law in Viet Nam 6. Rule of Law within a Nonliberal 'Communitarian' Democracy: The Singapore Experience 7. Competing Conceptions of Rule of Law in Malaysia 8. Debating Rule of Law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 1997-2002 9. Indonesia: Devaluing Asian Values, Rewriting Rule of Law 10. Rule of Law in India: Theory and Practice 11. Rule of Law and Aspects of Human Rights in Thailand 12. The Philippine 'People Power' Constitution and the Limits of Liberal Constituionalism 13. Rule of Law in Korea: Rhetoric and Implementation 14. The Application, and Non-Application, of Rule of Law Principles in Taiwan 15. Rule of Law in Japan

Editorial Reviews

'The edited volume is certainly a valuable contribution to the current limited rule of law literature, particularly in the Asian context.' - Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, December 2004

From the Publisher