Japanese Law and Development

Prof. Ginsburg, Tom
Professor of Law
University of Illinois

This paper considers a set of institutions that I characterize as the Northeast Asian Legal Complex, a system dominant in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.  Following the Meiji restoration of 1868, Japan embarked on a rapid program of modernization that included adoption of a Constitution (1884), a Civil Code (1896) and institutional structures of modern law such as courts, prosecutors and administrative agencies.  During the colonial period Japan transferred many of its own newly formed institutions to Korea and Taiwan.  This paper thoerizes about the relationship between the legal complex and economic development, and argues that Japan's legal system as transferred helped to lay the groundwork for rapid growth in Korea and Taiwan.  The paper then considers the implications of the analysis for general theories of law and development and for institutional transfers.