Conference on Legal Education in Asia: From Imitation to Innovation

Asia’s legal systems have been heavily influenced by the common law and civil law traditions. As a result, legal education in Asia started with the imitation of Western styles of instruction, degree structure, and even course syllabus and materials. With the rising economies of Asia and increasing demands for the rule of law and justice reforms across the region, reflection has begun on the existing imitation and the possibility of innovation in Asian legal education systems. A consensus appears to be in the making that legal education in Asia needs its own methods and objectives, and is accordingly in need of substantial reform. Revolutionary changes have already taken place in some countries, while evolutionary proposals are being discussed in several more. Yet the directions and determinants of this process remain unclear. How much innovation has taken or can take place? How successful has it been? How can legal education best respond to Asia’s rise and to the globalisation of law? What factors are impacting on these decisions? Given the enormous differences in the origins of legal education across Asia, it is time for scholars to compare the models of legal education among Asian countries and share the experience and lessons derived from the legal education reforms in a cross-jurisdictional way. This comparison across Asia, and across the civil law and common law jurisdictions, will help us to effect changes beneficially as we move in to a new era of Asian legal education. This new era will involve new purposes, new demands and also new possibilities for legal education in terms of content and method.