Asia Pacific Legal Development

This manuscript is a collection of essays on various issues in Asia-Pacific legal systems. It has been written within the framework of comparative legal research; thus, chapters address various of the ASEAN nations, as well as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The topics in this comprehensive volume, which offer Canadian perspectives on contemporary Asian law, include securities, prostitution, environmental, and constitutional law.

Using the rule of law as a framework, this book recasts Western theories of law, good governance and development in a Pacific perspective.

International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

This book assesses the past 20 years of development of international economic law in time for the WTO’s 20th Anniversary, and forecasts the future of international economic law. This edited volume brings together experts in the Asia-Pacific region, from a range of backgrounds, to provide perspectives on many issues that arise from the international economic law experience, focusing on its legal significance and likely impact on multilateralism. The past two decades have seen a significant proliferation of regional trade agreements and a lack of multilateral governance of finance around the world. How to respond to these challenges and how to reform the WTO jurisprudence and process to co-ordinate global and regional mechanisms have become compelling questions for large-scale discussions and systemic analysis. This book provides vital insights into just how to improve multilateral trading governance and to recalibrate international economic law in the twenty-first century.

At a time when Asia represents the fastest growing economic region, there is no better moment to consider what trusts law can contribute to societal stability and economic prosperity. This book does this by offering the first work that systematically explores trusts law across the region. Many Asian-Pacific jurisdictions have integrated and developed trusts law in their legal systems; either through colonial heritage or statutory activism. But the diversity of legal traditions and local contexts has resulted in trusts laws having a significantly varied impact across the region. In the modern globalised world there is growing need to adopt an outward looking approach in dealing with matters of common interest. This book answers this need by bringing together leading legal scholars and practitioners in the region to explore the theory and practice of trusts law, contextualised to specific jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific. Exploring 17 jurisdictions in Asia, it bring both an academic and practitioner perspective to trusts law in the region.

"Many Asian-Pacific jurisdictions have integrated and developed trusts law in their legal systems; either through colonial heritage or statutory activism. But the diversity of legal traditions and local contexts has resulted in trusts laws having a significantly varied impact across the region. In the modern globalised world there is growing need to adopt an outward looking approach in dealing with matters of common interest. This book aims to do this by offering the first work that systematically explores trusts law across the region. At a time when Asia represents the fastest growing economic region, there is no better moment to consider what trusts law can contribute to societal stability and economic prosperity."--

The volume surveys and discusses the range of current issues arising in the law of the sea from an Asian-Pacific perspective. There have been major developments in the law of the sea in the region: many current controversies (e.g. over archipelagic sealanes passage, drift-net fishing and environmental management) have their origins, or important exemplars, in the region. The contributors include international lawyers, political scientists and government officials with expertise in the region. Particular aspects of the book which are of interest are: (a) its discussion of the perspectives of particular countries in the region (East Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands); (b) its focus on issues of the marine environment and fisheries, including drift-net fishing; (c) discussion of specific developments which are of general interest (the Torres Strait Treaty and its implementation, maritime-confidence-building measures, dispute resolution); and (d) an overview of issues relating to high seas freedoms, including in particular transit through straits and archipelagoes. There is a concluding essay by the editors summarizing the various trends.

This insightful book examines the impact of two competing visions of Asian-Pacific economic growth paths and development governance. It discusses law, development and finance in the context of the Indo-Pacific Strategy versus the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), whilst also comparing parallel development financing systems.