Glendon, Mary Ann

English

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Case Western Reserve Journal ofInternational LawVolume 25 | Issue 21993International Association of Legal SciencesSymposium: ForewordMary Ann GlendonFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jilPart of the International Law CommonsThis Foreword is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Journals at Case Western Reserve University School of Law ScholarlyCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law by an authorized administrator of Case WesternReserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons.Recommended CitationMary Ann Glendon, International Association of Legal Sciences Symposium: Foreword, 25 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L. 119 (1993)Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol25/iss2/1PrefaceMary Ann Glendon*The articles in this symposium were first presented as contributionsto a conference on "The Social Role of the Legal Profession" held atthe University of Tokyo Law Faculty in the Fall of 1991. That meeting,jointly sponsored by the International Association of Legal Science (IA-LS) and the Japanese Comparative Law Association, was the fortiethannual gathering of comparative lawyers organized by the IALS.Since the work of the IALS is not as well known as it should bein the United States, a few words may be in order about its origins,purposes, and activities. Headquartered in Paris where it maintains apermanent secretariat, the group was founded in 1950 under the auspicesof UNESCO to promote the development of legal studies throughout theworld by utilizing the methods of comparative law. Over the past forty-three years, the IALS has sought to fulfil that mission chiefly throughannual conferences that bring together experts from different countries toexplore topics that seem especially well-suited for cross-national study.As is the case with many UNESCO organizations, the membership ofthe IALS is not composed of individuals, but of national associations,specifically, the comparative law associations of forty-two countries onfive continents. Its annual meetings are usually held in collaborationwith one of these national members. The Tokyo meeting, made possiblethrough the efforts of Professor Ryuichi Hirano and the Japanese Com-parative Law Committee, marked an especially significant moment in thehistory of the IALS, for it was the first such conference in Asia.Over the years, collaborations between the IALS and its nationalmembers have produced a distinguished series of publications of whichthe present volume is the latest and most interdisciplinary. The 1991Tokyo meeting, by breaking new ground in socio-legal studies, deservesto be counted for that reason alone as one of the most successful sym-posia in the history of the IALS. The timeliness and importance of thetopic aided IALS Scientific Director Petar Sarcevic in securing the par-ticipation of the truly extraordinary team of reporters whose contribu-tions are assembled in this volume. Not only are they among theworld's experts on various branches of the topic, but many are pioneersin interdisciplinary studies as well as leading comparatists.. President, International Association of Legal Sciences; Professor of Law, Harvard LawSchool.1993] IALS SYMPOSIUM 120The brilliant organizational efforts of the General Reporter, Profes-sor Kahei Rokumoto and his colleague Professor Shozo Ota assured ahigh degree of coordination among the reporters and maximized thebenefits accruing from their face-to-face exchanges of ideas. The resultsof those discussions have been incorporated in the reports presentedhere. Professor Rokumoto's preliminary work in defining the topic andsub-topics, his detailed analytical guidelines for reporters, and his skillfulcoordination of the discussions will set the standard for future IALSmeetings. The essays that follow are models of what cross-nationalcooperation can accomplish in illuminating contemporary legal problems.

International Association of Legal Sciences Symposium: Foreword

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International Association of Legal Sciences Symposium: Foreword

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Case Western Reserve University School of Law