Rule of Law Reform and Development stands out as an important contribution. Michael Trebilcock and Ronald Daniels have produced an ambitious, comprehensive, and persuasive book that will be of interest to both rule of law practitioners and academics. . . the book s overall strengths as a near-encyclopaedic appraisal of law and development will ensure its standing as a key resource for this still rapidly evolving field. Irina Ceric, Canadian Journal of Law and Society This book offers a sophisticated yet pragmatic account of the proper purposes of rule of law reform, the obstacles to achieving it, and the role that the international community can play. The procedural conception of the rule of law offers an appealing alternative to both one-size-fits-all universalism on the one hand and unconstrained relativism on the other. Kevin Davis, New York University School of Law, US This is the book that I have been waiting for. Even though rule of law has become the new mantra in development, its meaning remains elusive and its operational content unclear. This book helps us think systematically about it. Grounded in a procedural conceptualization of the rule of law, and supported by detailed case studies, Trebilcock and Daniels analysis lays out a theoretically sophisticated, yet practical agenda for making progress with rule-of-law reforms. Dani Rodrik, Harvard University, US This is a book on the role of legal institutions in economic development that is rich in institutional analysis and nuanced in terms of sensitivity to social, historical and political-economy issues that arise in the implementation of the rule of law. I particularly value its major focus on the need for balance between independence and accountability that afflict any rule of law reform: a balance which is missing in more one-sided accounts in the literature. I believe the book will be widely read and appreciated. Pranab Bardhan, University of California, Berkeley, US Within the law and development literature it is the most knowledgeable and comprehensive book on legal reform. I think that it will find a grateful readership among people working in development agencies, in humanitarian organizations and among scholars and students of development studies. Hans-Bernd Schäfer, University of Hamburg, Germany By identifying the key politico-economic reasons why rule-of-law reforms in developing countries have faltered and drawing out the implications for future strategy, this book is of immense importance and should be widely read. Anthony Ogus, CBE, FBA, University of Manchester, UK This important book addresses a number of key issues regarding the relationship between the rule of law and development. It presents a deep and insightful inquiry into the current orthodoxy that the rule of law is the panacea for the world s problems. The authors chart the precarious progress of law reforms both in overall terms and in specific policy areas such as the judiciary, the police, tax administration and access to justice, among others. They accept that the rule of law is necessarily tied to the success of development, although they propose a set of procedural values to enlighten this institutional approach. The authors also recognize that states face difficulties in implementing this institutional structures and identify the probable impediments, before proposing a rethink of law reform strategies and offering some conclusions about the role of the international community in the rule of law reform. Reviewing the progress in the rule of law reform in developing countries, specifically four regions Latin America, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia this book makes a significant contribution to the literature. It will be of great interest to scholars and advanced students, as well as practitioners in the field, including international and bilateral aid agencies working on rule of law reform projects, and international and regional non-governmental organiza

In the modern era, political leaders and scholars have declared the rule of law to be essential to democracy, a necessity for economic growth, and a crucial tool in the fight for security at home and stability abroad. The United States has spent billions attempting to catalyze rule-of-law improvements within other countries. Yet despite the importance of the goal to core foreign policy needs, and the hard work of hundreds of practitioners on the ground, the track record of successful rule-of-law promotion has been paltry. In Advancing the Rule of Law Abroad, Rachel Kleinfeld describes the history and current state of reform efforts and the growing movement of second-generation reformers who view the rule of law not as a collection of institutions and laws that can be built by outsiders, but as a relationship between the state and society that must be shaped by those inside the country for lasting change. Based on research in countries from Indonesia to Albania, Kleinfeld makes a compelling case for new methods of reform that can have greater chances of success. This book offers a comprehensive overview of this growing area of policy action where diplomacy and aid meet the domestic policies of other states. Its insights into the practical methods and moral complexities of supporting reform within other countries will be useful to practitioners and students alike.

The provision of legal technical assistance has in recent years become a major concern for international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, and for Western-based bilateral donor agencies. This book offers critical perspectives for the evaluation of legal technical assistance projects and contains proposals for action and research. Five chapters offer general perspectives on law, state and civil society and the remaining six case studies on themes such as economic regulation, agrarian reform, representation of women and access to justice.

The first sustained analysis examining legal transplantation into East Asia, this volume examines the prospects for transplanting a 'rule of law' that will attract and sustain international trade and investment in this economically dynamic region. The book develops both a general model that explains how legal transplantation shapes legal development in the region, whilst developing theoretical insights into the political, economic and legal discourses guiding commercial law reforms in Vietnam. For the first time, this book develops a research methodology specifically designed to investigate law reform in developing East Asia. In so doing, it challenges the relevance of conventional convergence and divergence explanations for legal transplantation that have been developed in European and North American contexts. As the first finely-grained analysis of legal development in Vietnam, the book will be invaluable to academics and researchers working in this area. It will also be of interest to those involved in commercial legal theory.

China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) has had a tremendous impact on the development and reform of China's legal system. This book focuses on the developments of China's legal system as well as its reform in the context of globalization. It covers various topics, including constitutional changes, law-based administration, and more.

This collection of essays examines how Russia's distinctive traditions of law-and lawlessness-are shaping the current struggle for economic reform in the country.

China has enjoyed considerable economic growth in recent years in spite of an immature, albeit rapidly developing, legal system, a system whose nature, evolution and path of development have been poorly understood by scholars. Drawing on his legal and business experience in China as well as his academic background in the field, Peerenboom provides a detailed analysis of China's legal reforms. He argues that China is in transition from rule by law to a version of rule of law, though most likely not a liberal democratic version as found in economically advanced countries in the West. Maintaining that law plays a key role in China's economic growth, Peerenboom assesses reform proposals and makes his own recommendations. In addition to students and scholars of Chinese law, political science, sociology and economics, this will interest business professionals, policy advisors, and governmental and non-governmental agencies as well as comparative legal scholars and philosophers.