This collection of essays discusses the processes and the effects of legal transplants in a sample of legal systems located in the East Asian and Oceania regions. In particular, this book reports on a selection of the latest legal reforms that are currently reshaping institutional relations, individual rights and the protection of the environment in, among others, China, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, and a series of Pacific nations. Most of these reforms were inspired by European and North American institutional experiences; others were derived from recent economic developments imposed by international obligations, or by an increased awareness of global environmental implications of unbridled industrial policies.

Three decades ago, a series of legal reforms in the People’s Republic of China prepared the conditions for formidable East Asian economic growth. The development has not been without costs. The unbridled development has proceeded, sometimes, without considering safeguards for investors, workers, the environment, or individual rights.