Asian and Pacific Law: Region-wide resources

Cases, legislation, commentary and journal articles from Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Philippines and Singapore.

Scholarly english language materials on Asian laws. A free bibliography from the Asian Law Centre, University of Melbourne.

AsianLII (Asian Legal Information Institute website) contains legislation, case-law, treaties, secondary materials and materials related to ASEAN and APEC. The platform provides free access to 311 databases containing legal resources relevant to 28 Asian jurisdictions.

PacLII (Pacific Legal Information Institute website) contains legislation, caselaw and other primary and secondary legal resources related to 20 Pacific Island jurisdictions.

A bibliography of publications on Asian law compiled by the Asian Law Centre at the University of Melbourne.

Published via the New York University Hauser Global Law School Program. Updated September 2014.

Compiled by Cornell University Law School, and lncluding constitutions, legislation links, government and legal system information etc. regarding 32 national jurisdictions in Asia.

Located within Sydney Law School at the University of Sydney, CAPLUS is a leading centre for the teaching and research of law and legal systems in Asia and the Pacific. Includes publications and useful links to other related resources.

Via Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne.

Via the Australian National University.

Based on the Asia Pacific Forum's 2010 response to the Yogyakarta Principles. Includes information on national human rights institutions in South and South East Asia, and a comparative review of Pakistan.

Includes the chapter: 'Negotiating Land Tenure: women, men and the transformation of land tenure in the Solomon Islands'.

Includes chapter: 'Bush Justice in Bougainville: mediating change by challenging the custodianship of custom'.

Includes the chapter: 'Promoting legal empowerment in the aftermath of disaster: an evaluation of post-tsunami legal assistance initiatives in Indonesia.

Published June 2012. Includes case studies for India, China, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

Includes tool-kits for the ongoing development of courts in the Pacific region, reports on Codes of Judicial Conduct, Judicial Benchbooks, development needs assessment reports, judicial monitoring and evaluation, and judicial administration process reports.

DISCUSSION DRAFT, MARCH, 2012 - The interaction between formal justice systems and customary systems significantly influences justice outcomes for many people in the Pacific. This report examines that interaction.

Available through HeinOnline, this database provides access to the constitutions of 188 countries, including the constitutions of many countries in Asia and the Pacific region, and contains additional resources related to world constitutions.

From the HeinOnline homepage, locate the World Constitutions Illustrated link at the bottom of the Subscribed Databases alphabetical list.

Available through HeinOnline. From the HeinOnline main page, choose the Foreign and International Law Resources database link from the subscribed libraries list, then search the alphabetical list for the yearbook.

NOTE: 1993-1996 only

This guide provides helpful links to resources dealing with Asian studies generally, rather than in a specifically legal context.

Asia-Pacific Economic Co-Operation is a 21 member intergovernmental forum facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

A database available through the Informit platform and containing material, including some unpublished items, relating to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Note: coverage only to 2003.

The Association of South-East Asian Nations is a collaborative body aiming to progress economic, social and cultural development throughout the region. ASEAN is active in a legal context via its promotion of justice and the rule of law, and its overview of international trade and regulation from the South-East Asian perspective.

From the Asian Society of International Law, the ASEAN Documents Database is a free, user-friendly, internet resource of selected ASEAN and International Law Documents. About 600 selected ASEAN documents and 260 International Law documents are now included in the database.

From the Asia Foundation, a not-for-profit NGO dedicated to improving lives across developing Asia.

A 2009 publication from the Asia Pacific Judicial Reform Forum which gathers the emerging experiences of judges, court administrators, lawyers, and researchers engaged in judicial reform in a collection of case studies.

From the University of Pennsylvania Law School Penn Law Legal Scholarship Repository. Provides a forum for scholars and students to contribute to the development of legal affairs in the region. Access from volume 1 to current.

An overview of, and introduction to the UN's work in the Asia-Pacific region. From the United Nations website. Features links to many relevant UN bodies active in the Asia-Pacific.

Browse and search for treaties involving Pacific Island nations. From PacLII - the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region. Made up of 62 member States, ESCAP works to overcome some of the region’s greatest challenges by providing results oriented projects, technical assistance and capacity building to member States in areas such as trade and investment, regional development and environmental policy.

Searchable and browseable trade agreements database linking to the full text of the Agreements.

The United Nations Development Programme helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively while emphasising the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women. UNDP works in four main areas: poverty reduction and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); democratic governance; crisis prevention and recovery; environment and sustainable development.

Association of South East Asian Nations

Published by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Including a country by country analysis of human rights issues etc.

Indexes Concluding Observations of the ten United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies, Country Visit Reports of Special Procedures Mandate Holders assessing general human rights conditions in a country (indexed since 2006), and Recommendations made under the Universal Periodic Review (indexed since 2008). Searchable by state and /or mechanism.

Based on UN Security Council Resolution 1540, this database reports on measures by countries to prevent the support of non-State actors in developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring or using nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their delivery systems.

Browseable country index for collecting and disseminating information on domestic court decisions and arbitral awards relating to the Conventions and Model Laws that have emanated from the work of the UN Commission on International Trade Law. The database is also searchable.

Search by Country. Summarizes the provisions of national legislation and of bilateral and multilateral agreements governing foreign fishing in waters under national jurisdiction.