The U.S.-Asia Law Institute (USALI) is one of America’s preeminent research centers for the study of law in East Asia. It serves as a bridge between East Asia and the United States, fostering mutual understanding on legal issues and using constructive engagement among legal professionals to promote rule of law and human rights in both regions. The Institute is funded by grants and gifts to conduct legal exchange programs, hold conferences and speaker programs, publish research and analysis, and teach courses about law in East Asia.
Goals
Promote mutual understanding between the United States and East Asia on legal issues
Use constructive engagement with partners to advocate legal reform in East Asia and the United States
Play an effective role in helping China and other countries improve their legal systems
Serve as a bridge between American and Asian legal experts
Educate our students, policymakers, and the public about legal developments in East Asia
What Makes Us Unique
We are ardent supporters and respectful scholars of law and legal reform in East Asian countries. Through our publications and other activities, we strive to enhance American understanding of East Asia’s legal development and challenges, including in human rights protection. Under the leadership of USALI’s founder, the late Jerome A. Cohen, the Institute carved out a unique space in the field of US-Asia legal exchanges as not only educated observers of East Asian legal systems, but also, when appropriate, honest and fair critics. We also study East Asian states’ theory and practice of international law and the role that law plays in Asian-American relations.