Mission

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 institutional grants and gifts to conduct legal exchange programs, hold conferences and speaker programs, publish research and analysis, and teach courses about law in 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 legal reform in East Asian countries. Through our publications and other activities, we strive to enhance American understanding of East Asia’s legal progress and challenges, including the protection of human rights. Under the leadership of Professor Jerome A. Cohen, the Institute carved out a unique space in the field of US-Asia legal exchanges. Our goal is not only to be educated observers of East Asian legal systems, but also, when appropriate, honest, fair, and well-informed critics. We study East Asian states’ theory and practice of international law and their increasingly important role in Asian-American relations.