East Asian Law ― Universal Norms and Local Cultures

This work explores the tension in East Asia between the trend towards a convergence of legal practices in the direction of a universal model and a reassertion of local cultural practices. The trend towards convergence arises in part from 'globalisation', from 'rule of law programs' promulgated by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank, and from widespread migration in the region, whilst the opposing trend arises in part from moves to resist such 'globalisation'. This book explores a wide range of issues related to this key problem, covering China in particular, where resolving differences in conceptions about the rule of law is a key issue as China begins to integrate itself into the World Trade Organisation regime.

Lucie Cheng is professor of Sociology and Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the Founding Dean of the School of Social Transformation Studies, Shih Hsin University, Taipei; and Permanent Visiting Professor of International Relations, Nankai University, Tainjin. Arthur Rosett has been Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (UCLA) since 1967. For more than twenty years he has taught a variety of Asian Law courses as well as contract law and international business transactions. Margaret Y.K. Woo is a Professor of Law at Northeastern University School of Law. In 1997, she was named the law school's distinguished Professor of Public Policy. She was formerly a Fellow a the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College and presently, an Associate in Research at East Asian Legal Studies Centre of Harvard Law School and the Fairbank Centre of Harvard College.