Imported Institutions: The Political Economy of Legal Reform in China and the Former Soviet Union (Research Brief)
October 10, 2012
Fifteen hundred years ago, the first attempt at a legal transplant - the export of the Roman Corpus Justus Civilis – took place. Since that time, myriad states have sought to strengthen their legal institutions through the import of foreign bodies of law. Despite the lengthy history of this practice and the central role it played in both the law and development movements and the reform of the transition economies, we know very little as to why attempts at reform succeed or failed. What conditions facilitate successful legal reform? Why do some laws remain unused on the statute books while others are actively employed and develop into key aspects of a state’s legal system? What are the implications of these transplants for economic growth and development? This project analyzes those questions drawing from material acquired in four post-socialist states: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.
Bradley Jensen Murg, of the University of Washington, was a 2010-2011 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) fellow.
