Contexts in Asia

This chapter studies the Asian legal context. There is no single uniform context in the Asian region. Its cultural, religious, historical, and political systems are too diverse, as are the foreign and domestic influences on legal systems in the region. Nevertheless, it is possible to single out individual legal systems and groups of systems in Asia which are clearly distinguishable in their respective contexts, but which cumulatively open up the legal world that is Asia and can thus serve as a blueprint for understanding all Asian legal systems. The chapter specifically looks at the People's Republic of China and the free-market democracies in Southeast Asia. India could be regarded largely as a common law country, the chapter states. Finally, the chapter argues that Indonesia is the world's fourth largest country by population, with a culturally mixed population, a civil law influenced state legal system, a system of indigenous customary law which partially survives, and considerable Islamic influence.