About
Dr. Wen-Shyong Lin
Professor at the Department of Law, National Taiwan University, Taiwan; and Ph.D. in Law at Tokyo University, Japan
From the establishment of the Association of Chinese Legal History to the year of 2000,it is a period of 24 years.Under the wise leadership of former respectable chairmen, many international academic symposia were held; many publications, including many papers on the Chinese history of legal system, have been published; and valuable academic research activities are continuously promoted. But, we still lack the history of the association in which the related academic activities are recorded. We have neither a platform used by the members of the association to express their academic research results nor a journal used to exchange academic view-points by international legal history scholars. It has been my cherished hope to realize the establishment of expressing and exchanging platform.
Therefore, I think it is necessary to publish a high-class journal to realize my academic sincere hope, and to develop the research potentialities of local scholars in legal history.
In the spring of 2000, the full support from Secretary General Yuan-sheng, Huang and all directors and supervisors of the association has realized the publication of the first issue. After all, this is an event highly worthy of celebration and happiness.
The periodical named as “Studies of Legal History” is greatly meaningful.
It represents annual academic activities and researches by the association will be characterized hereafter. More importantly, the research topics will not be within the limits of the existence development, and evolution in the Chinese legal system, and we will expand our research topics into the following four directions:
1. Comparative Studies of Legal Culture
For example, the comparison of legal reform between the Meiji Restoration and the Ching Dynasty Restoration; the studies of the impact both by Taiwanese inherent law and by foreign law; and the comparison of jury systems both in the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
2. Studies of Technological Integration
The integration of legal thought and legal history. For example, the analyses of the Chinese traditional legal characteristics; The Three Principles of the People---nationalism, democracy and livelihood---by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founding father of the Republic of China & the Five-power Constitution of the Republic of China outlined by Dr. Sun Yat-sen (which provides that the government administration shall be composed of executive, legislative, judiciary, examination and control powers & the legal establishment of the Republic of China (Taiwan); Marxist thought & legal system in mainland China; the marital system of Chinese ethnic minorities & the marital legal system of the People Republic of China. The integration of anthropology and legal history. For example: the Tibetan religious belief & its legal system, the 9 Taiwanese aboriginal races & the planning of autonomous areas.
3. Studies of Taiwanese Legal System
Because Taiwan was invaded, occupied and governed respectively by Spain, Holland, Zheng Cheng Kung of the Ming Dynasty the Ching government and Japan, the influences of the above foreign governance will be researched; especially, the influence of the Japanese colonial policy on the Taiwan’s legal system. Moreover, the development and establishment of Taiwan’s judicial system will also be studied.
