Explores judicial independence, integrity and impartiality in Asia-Pacific countries.

First comparative study of women judges in the Asia-Pacific based on empirical socio-legal research.

This volume challenges the conventional wisdom about judicial independence in China and its relationship to economic growth, rule of law, human rights protection, and democracy. The volume adopts an interdisciplinary approach that places China's judicial reforms and the struggle to enhance the professionalism, authority, and independence of the judiciary within a broader comparative and developmental framework. Contributors debate the merits of international best practices and their applicability to China; provide new theoretical perspectives and empirical studies; and discuss civil, criminal, and administrative cases in urban and rural courts. This volume contributes to several fields, including law and development and the promotion of rule of law and good governance, globalization studies, neo-institutionalism and studies of the judiciary, the emerging literature on judicial reforms in authoritarian regimes, Asian legal studies, and comparative law more generally.

This book describes and analyses the formal constitutional changes that have recently taken place in the Asia-Pacific region, embracing the countries of East and South East Asia and Pacific Island states. In examining the variety amongst constitutional systems operating in the region, it asks several key questions: What constitutional arrangements operate in the region and how can their fundamental differences in structure and operation be explained? How do social, political and economic factors limit the effects of the constitution in place? What lessons exist for the practice of constitutionalism elsewhere?

This book examines the numerous new courts created throughout Asia during the last 20 years, covering important jurisdictions including human rights, intellectual property disputes, bankruptcy petitions, commercial contracts, public law adjudication, personal law, labour and industrial disputes. It evaluates their performances, and considers the broader economic, social and political implications.

This book explores the theoretical and empirical relationship between democracy and governance in the Asia-Pacific region. Examining a variety of country cases and themes addressing the theoretical tension between governance and democracy, it illuminates how this impacts political and civil societies across the region. Analysing the character, structure and current trajectories of polities in the Asia-Pacific, democratic or otherwise, this book demonstrates that the role of civil society, political society and governance has significantly differed in practice from what has been commonly assumed within the international community. The book includes both theoretical investigations tracing the modern development of the concepts of governance, development and democratization as well as regional and country-specific observations of major issues, presenting comprehensive country-level studies of China, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Presenting fascinating insight into non-democratic governance, civil society and the rule of law in illiberal contexts, Governance and Democracy in the Asia-Pacific will prove to be of great use to students and scholars of Asian politics and society, as well as international and comparative politics.