76003 Asian Law and Legal Systems

Australia's close regional neighbours in East and South-East Asia are historically and culturally very different from Australia, and these differences have strongly impacted on their legal systems. Students in this subject gain a comparative overview of the legal systems of China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, with some mention of other Asian countries as appropriate.

Students have the opportunity to widen their perspectives of law and to understand how legal systems develop in the context of particular historical and cultural experiences within the East and South-East Asian region. Students also examine and evaluate the impact of introduced western legal systems in non-western countries, and the influence of Islam, Confucianism and other belief systems on the development of law within the region.

Specific discussion topics may deal with the following issues.

• Why did so many East and South-East Asian countries adopt a civil law system rather than a common law system?
• What is the legal basis for the execution of convicted drug smugglers in Indonesia?
• Do Malaysia and Singapore have democratic political systems?
• Is China's human rights record improving and have China's economic reforms led to corresponding legal reforms?
• Why are crime rates so low in Japan?
• Why are legal contracts considered less central to doing business in China and Japan than in many Western countries?
• What is Islamic law and how has it impacted on the legal systems of many South-East Asian nations?
• Are Asian legal systems becoming more 'Westernized' due to the pressures of globalisation?

Note that this subject is taught online, except for one face-to-face session at the start of the semester.

Assessment: Regular contributions to an online discussion board (30 per cent), completion of two short essays during the semester (40 per cent), submission of a reflective journal with entries for each major topic (30 per cent).