Abstract

As our focus turns from purely domestic law to regional and global issues, there is an increasing need to explain and, where possible, reconcile, the world’s two major systems of law – the common law and civil law systems. Both play a crucial role in the legal infrastructure of Asia, and their sometimes uneasy relationship is one of the many challenges to overcome if we are to establish connections and forge understanding between the various legal traditions in this continent.

This article focuses on the particular challenges involved in introducing the common law to Asian lawyers from civilian jurisdictions. It considers the difficulties which lawyers who are accustomed to a codified system of law experience when faced with the notionally more fluid and less structured system adopted in common law countries. It also, however, considers the underlying similarities between common law and civil law systems, and examines the characteristics which the two systems share – characteristics which ultimately suggest that the innate differences have more to do with process than with philosophy.

Recommended Citation

Fordham, Margaret (2006) "Comparative Legal Traditions - Introducing the Common Law to Civil Lawyers in Asia," Asian Journal of Comparative Law: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1, Article 11.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/asjcl/vol1/iss1/art11