Academic

Chen on Social Movements & Law in Hong Kong

By Lawrence Solum

Albert H.Y. Chen (Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong) has posted Social Movements and the Law in Post-Colonial Hong Kong on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Social movements are an important social and political phenomenon in the contemporary world. As regards the relationship between social movements and the law, it has been said that "legal norms, discourses, and practices in each case were an important constitutive element of evolving movement understandings, aspirations, and strategic action." In the post-colonial era, the law has become an increasingly prominent arena of social movement activities in Hong Kong. It is the purpose of this paper to undertake a preliminary exploration of social movements and the law in Hong Kong.

Our inquiry will proceed in the following stages. Part I considers briefly the definition of "social movements" and the history of social movements in Hong Kong. Part II of the chapter will provide some general comments on the relationship between social movements and the law. Part III will comment on the development of Hong Kong's legal system in the post-colonial era and on its relevance to social movements. It will also provide some case studies of law and social movements in post-colonial Hong Kong. Finally, part IV will contain some concluding reflections.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on March 23, 2009 (boomark / email).