Legal transplants in contemporary Asia: Foreword

Abstract

The term “ legal transplant ” refers to the movement of a rule or a system of law from one jurisdiction to another. The term has been widely used in studies of legal development and change since it was introduced by Allan Watson, a Scottish scholar in Roman law and comparative law, in 1974. 1 The jurisdiction in which the transplanted legal rule or legal system originated is usually called a “ donor, ” while the jurisdiction in which the given legal rule or legal system is transplanted is usually called a “ recipient. ” 2 When legal transplant in an Asian jurisdiction was analyzed, the donor was usually a non-Asian jurisdiction or organization. 3 However, Japan has been engaging in several legal assistance activities in Asian jurisdictions since the mid-1900s, 4 while there is an evalua-tion about China under Jinping that “ Western donors now face competition only development but in legal assistance, 5 I the following