Our Mission
The U.S.-Asia Law Institute serves as a resource and partner to various Asian countries as they reform and further develop their legal systems and institutions. As one of the United States' preeminent centers for the study of Asian law, the Institute also works to improve the understanding of Asian legal systems by lawyers, academics, policy makers and the public. Read More
Formally established in 2006 by renowned scholar of Chinese law and NYU law professor, Jerome A. Cohen, the U.S.-Asia Law Institute conducts research on Asian law, offers a wide variety of Asian legal courses, facilitates academic exchange between Asian and U.S. legal scholars and coordinates projects in Asia to further the Institute's dual goals of assistance and understanding. Through these projects and its cooperation with Asian legal reformers, the U.S.-Asia Law Institute is in a unique position to provide real-world insight into the actual progress of legal reform in Asia and to assist in shaping the future of that reform. Learn More About the Institute and Asian Legal Studies at NYU
In the Spotlight at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute
The Twelfth Annual Timothy A. Gelatt Dialogue on Law and Development in Asia
On January 31, 2008, the U.S.-Asia Law Institute, in cooperation with the Council on Foreign Relations, hosted the twelfth annual Timothy A. Gelatt Dialogue on Law and Development in Asia. Held in memory of Timothy Gelatt, a professor of Chinese law at NYU School of Law from 1988 until his untimely death in 1994, this year's discussion focused on the role and responsibility of legal education in China's rapidly changing society. Panelists included Dean Chenguang Wang of Tsinghua University, Dean Yixin Liao of the Law School of Xiamen University, Mr. Taiyun Huang, Deputy Director of the Department of Criminal Legislation of the Legal Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ira Belkin, Program Officer for Law and Rights of the Ford Foundation, and others.