The Case for Comparative Law and Society in Legal Education: Asian Legal Studies in Australian Law Schools

Abstract How and why is comparative law and society imperative to legal education? In the 21 st century, legal education displays a paradox: despite the rise of Asia economically, socially and politically, the study of comparative law rarely includes Asian laws outside of law schools in Asia. In this article, I contribute to the debate over legal education by arguing for the imperative of comparative law and society, and its benefits for law students. I examine how law schools commit practically to comparative law and society by hiring scholars with relevant expertise and offering such subjects. I illustrate this commitment with a case study of Asian legal studies in Australia over the past seven decades (1960s-2020s). I find that Asian legal studies remains concentrated at a handful of law schools, resulting in a problem I describe as the ‘Asian Century gap’ in legal education. Closing this gap requires a renewed commitment to the study of comparative law and society as Asian legal studies through hiring choices and subject offerings. Such a commitment is necessary to ensure that our law students gain the benefits that an education in comparative law and society has to offer.