Constitutional Courts in Asia: A Comparative Perspective(Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy)

The founding of a constitutional court is often an indication of a chosen path of constitutionalism and democracy. It is no coincidence that most of the constitutional courts in East and Southeast Asia were established at the same time as the transition of the countries concerned from authoritarianism to liberal constitutional democracy. This book is the first to provide systematic narratives and analysis of Asian experiences of constitutional courts and related developments, and to introduce comparative, historical and theoretical perspectives on these experiences, as well as debates on the relevant issues in countries that do not as yet have constitutional courts. This volume makes a significant contribution to the systematic and comparative study of constitutional courts, constitutional adjudication and constitutional developments in East and Southeast Asia and beyond.

Table of Contents:
1. Constitutional courts in Asia: Western origins and Asian practice Albert H. Y. Chen; 2. Constitutional review in Asia: a comparative perspective Cheryl Saunders; 3. The informal dimension of constitutional politics in Asia: insights from the Philippines and Indonesia Björn Dressel; 4. Towards more intra-Asian judicial cooperation in the constitutional sphere Maartje de Visser; 5. An evolving court with changing functions: the constitutional court and judicial review in Taiwan Jiunn-rong Yeh and Wen-Chen Chang; 6. Constitutional Court of Korea: guardian of the constitution or mouthpiece of the government? Chaihark Hahm; 7. Avoiding rights: the constitutional tsets of Mongolia Tom Ginsburg and Chimid Enhbaatar; 8. The Constitutional Court of Thailand: from activism to arbitrariness Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang; 9. Indonesia's Constitutional Court and Indonesia's electoral systems Simon Butt; 10. Constitutional Council of Cambodia at the age of majority: a history of weathering the rule of law storms in peacetime Teilee Kuong; 11. The short but turbulent history of Myanmar's Constitutional Tribunal Andrew Harding; 12. The Supreme Court of Japan: a judicial court, not necessarily a constitutional court Yasuo Hasebe; 13. Establishing judicial review in China: impediments and prospects Qianfan Zhang; 14. Why do countries decide not to adopt constitutional review? The case of Vietnam Ngoc Son Bui.

About the Author :
Albert H. Y. Chen is an LL.B. and LL.M. graduate of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Harvard University, respectively. He began his academic career in 1984 at HKU. He served as Head of the Department of Law (1993-96), Dean of the Faculty of Law (1996-2002), and is currently the Cheng Chan Lan Yue Professor in Constitutional Law at HKU. His areas of specialization include Hong Kong constitutional law, the study of Chinese law and Asian law from the comparative law perspective, and legal and political theory. He is the author of An Introduction to the Legal System of the People's Republic of China (2011), and co-editor of Human Rights in Asia (2006), Administrative Law and Governance in Asia (2008), Legal Reforms in China and Vietnam (2010), and Public Law in East Asia (2013). He is the editor of Constitutionalism in Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century (Cambridge, 2014). Andrew Harding works in the fields of Asian legal studies and comparative constitutional law. He commenced his academic career at the National University of Singapore (NUS) before moving to the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where he became Head of the Law School and Director of the Centre for South East Asian Studies. In 2012, he joined NUS, as Director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies and Director of the Asian Law Institute, from the University of Victoria, Canada. He has worked extensively on constitutional law in Malaysia and Thailand, and more recently Myanmar, and has made extensive contributions to scholarship in Asian comparative law. He is co-founding-editor of the book series Constitutional Systems of the World, a major resource for constitutional law in context, and has authored the books on Malaysia and Thailand in that series (2011, 2012). He has recently edited Constitutionalism and Legal Change in Myanmar (2016).

Review :
'We live in an age of constitutional courts. Yet courts around the world differ markedly in their approach to upholding democracy and human rights. This volume provides a timely and fascinating study of how these differences play out in Asia: from the super-strong judicial review practiced in Thailand, to the weak review found in Japan, it explores the social and political context for these differences, and the extent to which they are likely to remain stable over time. Theoretically and factually rich, it draws on insights from scholars around the world who are experts in Asia. It also combines canonical and new cases to provide a wide-ranging exploration of the variation we now find in 'Asian constitutionalism'.' Rosalind Dixon, University of New South Wales, Australia 'This is an excellent book that discusses the design and operation of constitutional review in East and Southeast Asia. It aptly combines a systematic presentation of the seven constitutional courts existing in the region with theoretical and comparative analysis of the problem. Undoubtedly, the book will serve as an essential reference for academic research as well as for debates on constitutional reform in other countries.' Lech Garlicki, University of Warsaw, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Poland (1993–2001) and of the European Court of Human Rights (2002–12) 'For comparative legal scholars and social scientists, this is a rare and precious book: a conceptually sophisticated and empirically rich collection of case studies and comparative reflections on constitutional courts in Asia. The volume directs attention to the variation that matters most - why have some constitutional courts succeeded in transforming their political environments, creating new forms of constitutional law and politics, while others have failed? Everyone engaged in the study of Asian law and politics needs to read this book.' Alec Stone Sweet, Saw Swee Hock Professor of Law, National University of Singapore