History of Legal Development in Seven Southeast Asian Countries

Author: He Qinhua / Li Xiuching (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Seven Southeast Asian countries—India, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—are among the nations that have experienced rapid economic development, increasingly social and political systems, and flourishing science, technology, and culture in recent years. Although these countries were historically colonies or dependencies of other developed nations, after gaining independence following World War II, they pursued sovereignty, democracy, and progress, integrating advanced foreign economic, political, technological, and cultural systems with their national conditions, creating remarkable development miracles and attracting worldwide attention. During this process, the laws of these countries played a crucial role in regulating government behavior, promoting economic development, and safeguarding the rights of the people. Since the late 1970s, when China implemented the reform and opening-up policy, we have made considerable efforts in teaching and researching foreign law, publishing numerous works. However, overall, our introduction of foreign law has been relatively limited to a few Western developed countries. Even when some introductions or commentaries on the legal developments of the aforementioned seven countries are provided, they are often fragmented and scattered. In the curricula of law schools (including textbooks), these countries still lack a dedicated place, which is quite unsuitable given the current global economic integration, internationalization of legal development, and the frequent economic, political, and cultural exchanges between China and these nations.