Georgetown University Law Center, one of America's most distinguished law schools and a national leader in the fields of international and comparative law, has demonstrated its commitment to the East and Southeast Asian region through the program in Asian Law and Policy Studies ("ALPS").

Asia, the world's most populous region, is of crucial importance to the United States. Japan, China, and the smaller Asian countries and regions -- Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore -- account for nearly one-fourth of U.S. exports and one-third of U.S. imports. U.S. trade with Asia has surpassed its trade with all of Europe, both East and West, for a decade now; and the Asian lead is growing. Beyond the economic realm, Asian countries have become indispensable partners in the solution of the major international problems of the post-Cold War era, including international security, the environment, economic development, arms control and nuclear proliferation, human rights, and refugee flows.

The growing interdependence between the United States and Asia has brought about much greater interaction for lawyers in both the public and private sectors. Increasingly, U.S. Government officials work closely with their Asian counterparts to achieve greater harmonization of law and policy in matters such as international trade, foreign direct investment, intellectual property, and competition. In the private sector, American lawyers are far more likely now than a decade ago to be dealing with Asians as clients, negotiating partners or adversaries, both in the United States and abroad.

Unfortunately, most Americans in both the public and private sectors remain poorly equipped to respond to the opportunities and challenges created by Asia's growing role. Notwithstanding the growing numbers of Americans of Asian origin, United States education and intellectual traditions remain Eurocentric. Few Americans have had more than the most superficial exposure to Asian thought, institutions and values, much less Asian legal systems.

To address this need, Georgetown's ALPS program provides a framework for expanded education, exchanges, and international dialogue about Asian law. The Law Center's Asia-related courses now include Korean Law and Trade, Japan-U.S. Business Transactions, Chinese Law, Japanese Legal System, Legal Framework of U.S.-Japan Economic Relations, and Law and Development in the Pacific Community. Additional courses on Asian law are planned for the future. Moreover, ALPS seeks to integrate Asian legal materials into non-specialized courses by increasing the number of visiting faculty and fellows at the Law Center from Asia.

With the growth of economic regionalism in many parts of the world, the future shape of United States trade and economic relations with Asia is an increasingly important question for policy makers on both sides of the Pacific. Taking advantage of its location in Washington, DC, ALPS has established a new forum for structured dialogue concerning law and policy harmonization in the Pacific region. The forum's agenda has included issues such as the legal framework for Pacific Trade, the proposed APEC Investment Code and harmonization of trade and competition laws in the Pacific Region. Participants include visiting fellows from Asia, American specialists and members of the Washington policy community. Through this unique forum the Law Center makes a contribution to the development of U.S. relations with Asian countries. ALPS has also co-sponsored training for Asian government officials in international legal studies.

As the world economy grows to include more Asian participation, there is an ever greater need in the United States for better understanding of Asia. The Law Center has responded by creating a symposium program in Asian studies and by offering a wide range of courses and seminars in international and comparative law. Five international and comparative law courses focus exclusively on Japan, China and Korea. In addition, the Asian Law and Policy Studies Program has made the Law Center a major forum for international symposia and conferences on law and policy issues in Transpacific relations.

Asian Law and Policy Studies

Fundamental to the increased focus on Asian studies has been the creation of the Asian Law and Policy Studies (ALPS) program. The program, sponsored by the Japan Foundation's Center for Global Partnership, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Asia Foundation, and the Korea Foundation was formed to develop Asian legal courses and symposia which foster dialogue on the harmonization of law and policy in the Asia-Pacific region. Forums sponsored by the program have included:

"A Framework for Pacific Trade" - March-April 1994

This month-long ALPS forum examined the legal and policy ramifications of alternative trade regimes in the Pacific Region. Topics included: "Pacific Regionalism - The Evolution and Role of APEC,"U.S.-Asia Trade: The View From Capitol Hill," and "U.S.-Japan Economic Relations. "

"An APEC Investment Regime" - November 1994

A four-day ALPS symposium where high-level government officials, business people and academic specialists from around the world convened to discuss a proposed code of Investment Principles for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization. The code would serve to protect foreign investors against arbitrary or discriminatory action by host countries. Topics included "The Changing Environment for FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in Japan," "'Reconciling Asian and American Legal Cultures," and "Japanese Investment in Asia: Issues and Perspectives." A book based on the symposium, Investment Issues of Asia and the Pacific Rim, has been published by Oceana Publications.

"Competition Regulation Within the APEC Region: Commonality and Divergence" - May 1995

The objective of this colloquium was to publish the first survey and analysis of competition, antitrust laws, and policies among APEC economies as a basis for APEC discussions of harmonization or convergence of law and policy in this important area. Participants included top antitrust authorities as well as leading scholars and practitioners from throughout the APEC region.

Curriculum

In previous years, Georgetown's Asian law courses have included U.S.-Japan Trade Issues, Chinese Law, East-West Negotiations, the Changing Pattern of International Relations in Asia, and Korean Law. The cultural, economic, legal and political differences between the U.S. and Japan, and the U.S. and other Asian countries, are brought forth regularly offered courses and seminars including The Asian Law and Policy Studies Seminar. This is a research seminar and workshop, in which students, faculty, and outside speakers present their current research on Asian law and policy. The impact of the Asia-Pacific region on the world market and global economic activity is substantial and continues to grow. In addition, the conspicuous success and some spectacular failures of Asian nations in legal and economic development have prompted suggestions that the experience of these nations may provide models (both positive and negative) for other developing countries and regions. This seminar explores— in connection with the role of law and legal institutions— the interaction of social change, economic growth, and legal development in East and Southeast Asia. Specific topics depend on the research interests of the participants, but may include capital formation, financial regulation, transnational trade and investment, intellectual property, land reform, environmental protection, worker protection, human rights, and similar private and public law issues.     Students prepare weekly memoranda commenting on the presented papers. Each student also prepares a substantial academic work of publishable quality and presents it to the seminar. Consistent with the year-long format and the number of credit hours, the student papers are expected to exceed the requirements of the typical research paper in scope, depth, and quality.

Japan-U.S. Business Transactions

Doing business in Japan has many distinctive features, some of which may also be found to some degree in other East Asian contexts. This seminar uses a fairly typical joint venture manufacturing agreement between U.S. and Japanese firms as a vehicle for introducing various aspects of Japanese law and business practice. Substantial attention is given to the negotiation process and to means of dealing with disputes. Emphasis is placed on methods for bridging differences in legal culture and business styles.

Japanese Legal System

Introduces Japanese law as a social institution, an instrument of state intervention, and an issue in U.S.-Japanese relations. The course evaluates the role of law in Japan, beginning with historical roots of criminal and civil law, legal reform in the post-war Occupation, the Constitution, and the administrative role of the state. The course focuses on economic regulation and the role of the state in the economy, including antitrust, foreign trade regulation, industrial policy, problems of foreign investment, and U.S.-Japan trade and business transactions.

Legal Framework of U.S.-Japan Economic Relationship Seminar

Provides an introduction to the U.S.-Japan economic relationship through an examination of the trade and industrial challenges posed by Japan and the United States' responses to those challenges over the past two decades. Major topics include Japanese industrial policy and the bilateral disputes and negotiations that have affected trade and investment patterns between the two countries.

Chinese Law Seminar

Provides a general introduction to the nature and function of law in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and to Chinese attitudes toward selected international legal questions. Topics considered include: substantive, procedural, and institutional aspects of criminal and civil law in the PRC; Chinese views on the nature and sources of international law and its role in international society as exemplified in theory and practice, with particular attention to Chinese attitudes toward human rights; and practical legal problems arising from commercial and diplomatic interaction between the U.S. and the PRC, such as foreign investment and contract negotiation, protection of industrial property, and provisions under U.S. law for carrying on commercial relations with Taiwan. These topics will be considered in the context of their historical and political backgrounds in an effort to illuminate continuities between traditional and contemporary Chinese legal institutions. Students are encouraged to compare the nature and role of law in the West and the PRC. The assigned reading consists chiefly of English language translations of primary Chinese source materials, including cases, statutes, contracts, treaties, trade agreements, and jurisprudential writings.

Korean Law and Trade

Covers the foundations and current structure of the Korean law and legal system. It focuses on the legal and non-legal issues concerning Korean economic laws and their enforcement, which have important implications for foreign enterprises engaging in trade in and with Korea. Case studies are used to illuminate practical problems facing international practitioners participating in the Korean legal system. This course also emphasizes the role of law in Korean economic development. The subject areas covered in the course include but are not limited to the legal profession, dispute resolution, trade, foreign investment, antitrust, and intellectual property laws.

Law and Development Seminar

Provides an opportunity to examine the role of law, legal institutions, and legal personnel in the pursuit of political, economic, and social development in cultures that differ materially from the United States (including Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the emerging democracies of Eastern and Central Europe). Following a review of different perspectives and measurements of development, including development economics, and the literature of law and development, the seminar will focus upon particular issues and problems. Particular attention will be given to fields of law, such as foreign investment, that are addressed by governments seeking to advance development objectives. Specific topics will depend in part upon the research interests of seminar participants. Some will concentrate on such topics as capital formation and financial regulation, exploitation of natural resources and environmental concerns, land tenure and reform, tax policy and administration, and human rights.

Future Endeavors

The Law Center's commitment to expanding and enhancing our Asian and other international legal tudies is exemplified by the programs and events listed below:

The James M. Morita Chair in Asian Legal Studies, which was awarded to Professor James Feinerman on April 25, 1997. The James M. Morita Chair represents the Law Center's commitment to expand its role as the pre-eminent U.S. Legal institution in Asian legal studies.

ALPS Forum, a three-year project supported by Japan's Foundation for Global Partnership, the Asia Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Korea Foundation. The program has resulted in twice-yearly scholarly seminars on issues that affect Asian law and policy. Oceana Publications, a well-known American publisher for the international legal market, has agreed to publish several volumes based on ALPS conferences, while other conferences have have provided material symposium issues of Georgetown's student-edited international law journal, Law and Policy in International Business.

A growing number of visiting professors, scholars and researchers from Asia are attending the Law Center. Several of them have been supported by the Marks & Murase Visiting Professorship, whose first incumbent, Masahisa Naitoh, helped inaugurate the ALPS Program. The Law Center welcomes and encourages foreign professors and scholars to apply or inquire about our Asian Legal Studies program.

Conclusion

Georgetown University Law Center prepares its graduates to excel in a wide range of international legal careers from private practice to corporate boardrooms, scholarly teaching to public service of all kinds. It is an educational institution dedicated to the principle, stated on the facade of Georgetown's Edward Bennett Williams Law Library, that "Law is but the means, justice is the end." With this principle in mind, the Law Center has built a culturally diverse environment that is at once conducive to the exchange of practical ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence.

Through the generous donations and continuing commitment of alumni, friends, and parents the Georgetown University Law Center has expanded and will continue to expand its admissions, scholarships, programs, symposiums, research, and professors and scholars in Asian Legal Studies. With its expanding program in Asian Law and Policy, the Law Center can provide an education that can prepare future lawyers for an expanded role in the international legal and business world well into the next century.