{"title":"Perspectives of the Court of the Astana International Financial Centre: Potential to Transform the Central Asian Legal Landscape","authors":"Madi Kenzhaliyev","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.37","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.37","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The rise and proliferation of International Commercial Courts has become a perceptible trend across the European and Asian continents over the past two decades. One such dispute resolution hub exists within the Astana International Financial Centre, a special jurisdiction within the Republic of Kazakhstan that operates on the basis of common law principles. The Astana International Financial Centre and its Court were modelled on the international financial centres of Dubai and Qatar; however, there are substantial differences between the legal systems of the Gulf States and that of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As a result, the creation of a new court has led to considerable criticism within the local legal community, raising serious doubts as to whether the Kazakh state should be maintaining and financing a ‘caviar-court’ instead of using resources to reform and develop the national judicial system. Nevertheless, despite the scepticism surrounding the financial centre, there is potential for the Astana International Financial Centre and its Court to become a regional dispute resolution hub for post-Soviet countries and the Central Asian region, following the example of Singapore and Dubai.","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140510502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Driving Irritation: Thailand's Supreme Court and the English Roots of Corporate Criminal Liability – CORRIGENDUM","authors":"Lasse Schuldt","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.36","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.36","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"42 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139442282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"IP Laws and Regimes in Major Asian Economies: Combing Through Thousand Threads of IP to Peace in Asia by Kung-Chung Liu. Abingdon: Routledge, 2022. 254 pp. Hardback: £104.00.","authors":"Jyh-An Lee, Yangzi Li","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.34","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.34","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"59 49","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139446718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Islamic Vision of Intellectual Property: Theory and Practice by Ezieddin Elmahjub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. 214 pp. Hardback: £106.00.","authors":"Ali Ekber Cinar","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.35","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.35","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"5 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139381058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Timing of Guilty Pleas: Lessons from Common Law Jurisdictions by Kevin Cheng. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. 210 pp. Hardcover: US$ 110.00.","authors":"Enshen Li","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.32","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.32","url":null,"abstract":"An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"118 23","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135136865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Soviet Legacy of Vietnam's Intellectual Property Law: Big Brother is (No Longer) Watching You","authors":"Van Anh Le","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.31","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.31","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract How did intellectual property (IP), a private right born out of European Enlightenment ideals, take root in Vietnam's socialist legal framework, and what influence does Vietnam's Soviet legacy still have on its IP law? The clandestine triumph of IP rights in Vietnam is remarkable, given the system's former propensity for collective ownership and limited private property rights. Vietnam's approach to IP rights has changed with economic liberalisation: while external pressure prompted the initial adoption of IP laws, national interest and global reputation enhancement are now driving the effort. At the height of communism in the 1980s and under Soviet domination, IP laws reflected socialist ideology and the characteristics of a command economy. Amid Vietnam's quest for technological advancement, the importance of patents has grown. However, public perceptions of the unreliability of the legal system to resolve IP disputes persist, pushing civil disputes towards the government rather than the judiciary. As Vietnam opened economically, its IP regime moved away from overt communism, but communist values are still implicitly incorporated in general principles. Today, adherence to free trade agreements, which require robust IP protection, is driving the modernisation of Vietnam's IP infrastructure.","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"30 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135367940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Judicial Review and the Rule of Law in Pakistan","authors":"Ayesha A Malik","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.28","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.28","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"81 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135616674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Relationship Between Constitutional Equality and Substantive Review","authors":"Kenny Chng","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.23","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract General equality rights in written constitutions – rights stating the ideal of equality without specifying categories of impermissible differentiation – have often been effected through the idea of equality as rationality. Equality as rationality demands that differentiations between like entities have to be rationally justifiable. Such equality rights are applicable to legislation and executive action. This presents a prima facie overlap with substantive review in common law administrative law, since substantive review is also concerned about the rational justifiability of executive action. This raises three questions: (1) Are both sets of legal principles indeed similar? (2) Have courts managed to distinguish them in practice? (3) If not, then given that both sets of legal principles exist at different levels in the legal order, how can their similarity be rationalised? This article will study these questions, drawing upon Hong Kong and Singapore law as test cases.","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"230 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135833768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Driving Irritation: Thailand's Supreme Court and the English Roots of Corporate Criminal Liability","authors":"Lasse Schuldt","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.29","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.29","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In Thailand, the concept of corporate criminal liability is commonly identified with significant theoretical and practical uncertainties. Only limited attention, however, has been devoted to the notion's historical roots in English legal transfers. This article examines the relevant legislation, court cases, academic literature, and other records. It carves out the continuous English influence on Thai corporate crime doctrine and highlights the legal irritation that occurred along the way. It argues that irritation was not automatic but driven by the Supreme Court, whose choices were shaped by decades of English impact on Thai legal education and practice. The article thereby highlights the dynamics between legal transfers and local drivers of legal development. It expands the growing research on the continued relevance of English law in Thailand and concludes with an outlook on the future of Thai corporate crime doctrine.","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135817138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Agreements Forbidden by Law <i>vis-à-vis</i> Agreements to Defeat the Law: How Are They Different?","authors":"Adnan Trakic","doi":"10.1017/asjcl.2023.30","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/asjcl.2023.30","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article seeks to ascertain the difference between the agreements forbidden by law under section 24(a) and those intended to defeat the law under section 24(b) of the Malaysian Contracts Act 1950. Even though both subsections (a) and (b) cater to different types of illegality, the courts in Malaysia have often been applying them together without giving reasons why they do so. Their conjoined application prevails perhaps because there has been no convincing explanation of their differences, particularly when considered in the context of the common law doctrine of sham. This article attempts to fill that gap. The article suggests that 24(a) deals with the agreements that are expressly or impliedly forbidden by law, while 24(b) applies to sham contracts. This proposition is based on the analysis of the common law doctrine of sham and recent court decisions.","PeriodicalId":39405,"journal":{"name":"Asian Journal of Comparative Law","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136129197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}