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Per agreement with Professor Ji Weidong (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, Editor-in-chief of AJLS), Prof. Xin He of The University of Hong Kong is serving as guest editor for an Asian Journal of Law and Society special issue (to be published in 2027). AJLS is a reputable journal that provides an increasingly important Asian perspective to global law and society scholarship. AJLS peer-reviewed publications feature empirical and multi-disciplinary research and bring a unique perspective to socio-legal issues of global concerns with a comparative exploration of law and society topics.

Courts are often idealized as impartial arbiters of justice and guardians of constitutional order, particularly in Western liberal democracies. However, in Asia—a region marked by diverse legal traditions, historical legacies, and political systems—judiciaries play varied and complex roles in governance. This special issue seeks to challenge Eurocentric assumptions about judicial independence, rights developments, and court functions by examining how courts in Asia navigate, shape, and are shaped by governance structures.

We invite original empirical research that explores the unique functions, constraints, and dynamics of courts across Asian jurisdictions. Contributions should critically engage with the political, historical, and socio-legal contexts that define judicial behavior, rights enforcement, and the broader rule of law in the region.

Topics of Interest:

We welcome submissions on, but not limited to, the following themes:

· Judicial Independence and Constraints

· Rights Developments in Comparative Perspective

· Courts as Governance Actors

· Actors and Institutions in the Judicial Process

· Case Processing and Judicial Behavior

Priorities will be given to studies that employ empirical methods, broadly defined. This special volume particularly welcomes research works that highlight the unique perspectives on courts and the participants in Asian countries, which are situated in a context with quite different historical and political contexts.

Please keep in mind the following in your consideration and submission:

• The final manuscript will be published in English with an average length of 10,000 words. Please find specific author instructions below.

• We welcome empirical research articles using empirical and other methods for social-legal studies

• The topic of the thesis should be closely related to the relevant issues of courts in the Asian contexts

• Preferences will be given to broad coverage of Asia, including all regions and areas

• collaboration with scholars from Asian nations and societies would be welcome

• All finally selected manuscripts will undergo peer review

This special volume of AJLS will be edited by Prof. Xin He of The University of Hong Kong. Manuscripts should be submitted directly to the editor (xfhe@hku.hk) in MS WORD format.

Manuscripts should represent unpublished original work. If you are potentially interested in contributing to this special issue, please send us via email:

(1) a proposed title of your manuscript, and (2) an abstract (150 words) by 31 July 2025. The deadline for submissions of the full manuscript is 31 May 2026, and the projected publication is early 2027.

Please send any inquiries to

Prof. Xin He (xfhe@hku.hk)

Guest editor:

Prof. Xin He (The University of Hong Kong)

Author Instructions：

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/asian-journal-of-law-and-society/information/author-instructions/preparing-your-materials

AJLS Website：

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/asian-journal-of-law-and-society

English Version of the Call for Papers：

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/asian-journal-of-law-and-society/announcements/call-for-papers/courts-and-governance-in-asia