Description: The founding of a constitutional court is often an indication of a chosen path of constitutionalism and democracy. It is no coincidence that most of the constitutional courts in East and Southeast Asia were established at the same time as the transition of the countries concerned from authoritarianism to liberal constitutional democracy. This book is the first to provide systematic narratives and analysis of Asian experiences of constitutional courts and related developments, and to introduce comparative, historical and theoretical perspectives on these experiences, as well as debates on the relevant issues in countries that do not as yet have constitutional courts. This volume makes a significant contribution to the systematic and comparative study of constitutional courts, constitutional adjudication and constitutional developments in East and Southeast Asia and beyond.
Brief description: Albert H. Y. Chen is an LL.B. and LL.M. graduate of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Harvard University, Massachusetts, respectively. He began his academic career in 1984 at HKU. He then served as Head of the Department of Law (1993-96), Dean of the Faculty of Law (1996-2002), and is currently the Cheng Chan Lan Yue Professor in Constitutional Law at HKU. His areas of specialization include Hong Kong constitutional law, the study of Chinese law and Asian law from the comparative law perspective, and legal and political theory. He is the author of An Introduction to the Legal System of the People's Republic of China (2011), and co-editor of Human Rights in Asia (2006), Administrative Law and Governance in Asia (2008), Legal Reforms in China and Vietnam (2010), and Public Law in East Asia (2013). He is the editor of Constitutionalism in Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century (Cambridge, 2014).
Review Quotes: 'For comparative legal scholars and social scientists, this is a rare and precious book: a conceptually sophisticated and empirically rich collection of case studies and comparative reflections on constitutional courts in Asia. The volume directs attention to the variation that matters most - why have some constitutional courts succeeded in transforming their political environments, creating new forms of constitutional law and politics, while others have failed? Everyone engaged in the study of Asian law and politics needs to read this book.' Alec Stone Sweet, Saw Swee Hock Professor of Law, National University of Singapore