The rule of law will become the hallmark of the new Asia in this century. Since time immemorial, the catalysts for major social and historical change in Asia have been war, technology, religion and, more recently, mercantile adventurism. The early 21st Century will bear witness to yet another paradigmatic shift in Asia, brought about once again by a Western influence. Law as an instrument for effecting transparency in government, predictability in dispute resolution processes, enhancing standards of corporate governance will change the face of Asia over the next 100 years.

This session will trace the historical antecedents to and substitutes for law in traditional Asian societies, examine the advent of Napoleonic Codes and English common law in Asia with the onset of European expansion, analyze the reception and subsequent internalization of Western jurisprudence in the post-colonial period, examine the international standardization of law in Asia at the beginning of the 21st Century and, finally, consider the impact of such processes on development in Asia over the next 100 years.