Human Rights in Asia: A Comparative Legal Study of Twelve Asian Jurisdictions, France and the USA

Human Rights in Asia considers how human rights are viewed and implemented in Asia. It covers not just civil and political rights, but also social, economic and cultural rights.

This study discusses the problems arising from the fact that ideas of human rights have evolved in Western liberal democracies and examines how far such values are compatible with Asian values and applicable in Asian contexts. Core chapters on France and the USA provide a benchmark on how human rights have emerged and how they are applied and implemented in a civil law and a common law jurisdiction. These are then followed by twelve chapters on the major countries of East Asia plus India, each of which follows a common template to consider the context of the legal system in each country, black letter law, legal discussions and debates and key current issues concerning human rights in each jurisdiction.

Randall Peerenboom is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, where he teaches courses in Chinese law, international human rights, and legal theory. He often serves as an expert witness on PRC legal issues, and has been a consultant to the Ford Foundation and the Asian Development Bank on legal reforms and rule of law in China. He is the author of several books and more than sixty articles on Chinese law and philosophy.

Carole J. Petersen is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on women and the law, equality rights, and constitutional law. From 2001 to 2004, she served as the Director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Comparative and Public Law, where she continues to oversee research projects on equality and the law.

Albert H. Y. Chen is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong and Harvard University. He began his teaching career at the University of Hong Kong in 1984, and is currently a Professor in its Department of Law. He has written seven books and over 100 articles in English and Chinese, mainly on constitutional law and legal philosophy.