Comparative Law in Global Perspective: Essays in Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of the SOAS Law Department

In an era that honours cultural diversity, the discipline of comparative law takes on great significance and even urgency. Yet in most legal scholarship the tendency to impose. Eurocentric and Anglo-American values on Asian and African laws has proven hard to overcome. The essays in this volume offer global perspectives on crucial contemporary issues such as economic development, the persistence of customary law, 'offshore' jurisdictions, family law and succession, land tenure, the forging of national constitutions, human rights violations, and the treatment of ethnic minorities. They portray the laws of Asian and African countries as equal manifestations of legal culture in a shrinking world. Not only does this approach highlight the full diversity of the world's legal traditions; it also serves to combat the scourge of xenophobia, and disarm inward-looking policies that spawn racism and overt nationalism. Rendering Asian and African legal systems and traditions in an accessible form to a non-Asian and non-African audience, this volume is sure to sharpen the sensitivity of academics and practitioners everywhere.