Understanding China’s Legal System

This volume brings together ten original essays by leading Chinese law experts in the United States and beyond. Employing a variety of perspectives and materials, these writings tackle important issues that range from ancient Chinese legal history to aspects of the contemporary legal process in the People’s Republic of China. For example, how was law theorized and practiced during China’s Warring States period circa 4th century B.C? What was the role of case precedents in the Qing (1616-1911) judicial process? What role has law played in China’s on going transformation from central planning to a market economy? Does the current practice of village-level elections foretell a greater and more genuine development of democracy in China? And, given the complexities of its legal tradition, how can one best understand contemporary Chinese law and anticipate the pace and direction of its future development?

The contributors are William P. Alford, Albert H. Chen, Tsung-fu Chen, Donald C. Clarke, Alison W. Conner, R. Randle Edwards, Jamie P. Horsley, William C. Jones, Natalie G. Lichtenstein, and Susan Roosevelt Weld.

This collection of essays is dedicated to Jerome A. Cohen, Professor, New York University Law School, in honor of his pioneering role during the past forty years in American scholarship on law in China.