Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T07:54:15.341Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Land-Law Reforms in Vietnam and Myanmar: “Legal Transplant” Viewed from Asian Recipients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2021

Yuka Kaneko
Yuka Kaneko*
Affiliation:
Center for Social System Innovation, Kobe University
*
E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper focuses on the conflict of norms in the interface between the “transplanted” formal law and the local social norms in the land-law reforms in Vietnam and Myanmar, each representing different legal families, while sharing commonness in that both have attempted law-making in the post-colonial independence period in order to restore the basis of the livelihoods of the local population. Both of the legal concepts of “land-use right” (quyen su dung dat) in Vietnam and “land-use right for cultivation” (loat paing kwint) in Myanmar have been the product of law-makers’ restorative attempts at farmland security, while intentionally avoiding usage of the term “ownership” that would result in the capitalist transaction of land as a commodity. However, the contemporary land-law reforms led by donor-oriented “legal transplant” in these countries have resulted in the plunder of such policy, by reintroducing the same mechanisms of land exploitation as existed in the colonial days. Roaring protests of the local agricultural population seem to be a rising-up of the social norm descended from the immemorial past as an unwritten Constitution to bring an end to the centuries-long movement of “legal transplant” of the modern capitalist law.

Keywords

legal transplantVietnam land lawMyanmar land lawland-law reformlaw and development
Type
Legal transplants in contemporary Asia
Information
Asian Journal of Law and Society , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 2021 , pp. 402 - 428
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Asian Journal of Law and Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Berkowit, Daniel, Pistor, Katharina, & Richard, Jean-Francois (2003) “The Transplant Effect.” 51 American Journal of Comparative Law 163–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruce, John W. (2006) “Reform of Land Law in the Context of World Bank Lending,” in Bruce, J. W., Giovarelli, R., Rolfes, L. Jr etal., eds., Land Law Reform: Achieving Development Policy Objectives (World Bank Law, Justice, and Development Series), Washington, DC: The World Bank.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caselaw Vietnam Company Limited (2019) Case Law of Vietnam, Vol. 1: 2016–2018, Hanoi: Caselaw of Viet Nam Company Limited (online publication version).Google Scholar
Cordero, Sanchez J. A., ed. (2012) Legal Culture and Legal Transplants, Vols I and II, Paris: International Academy of Comparative Law.Google Scholar
David, Rene, & Brierley, John E. C. (1968/1985) Major Legal System in the World Today, 3rd edn, London: Stevens & Sons.Google Scholar
de Soto, Hernando (2000) The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else, New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Dilcher, Gerhard (2016) “The Germanists and the Historical School of Law: German Legal Science between Romanticism, Realism, and Rationalization.” 24 Legal History 20–72.Google Scholar
Ehrlich, Eugen (1913) Grundlegung der Soziologiedes Rechts, Munich: Duncker & Humblot.Google Scholar
Graziadei, Michael (2006) “Transplants and Receptions,” in Reimann, M. & Zimmermann, R., eds., The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 442–73.Google Scholar
Hla Aung (2008) Law and Justice in Myanmar, Yangon: Thida Press.Google Scholar
IFC and Displacement Solutions (2015) Land Acquisition Law and Practice in Myanmar: Overview, Gap Analysis with IFC PS1 & PS5 and Scope of Due Diligence Recommendations, IFC (International Financial Corporation).Google Scholar
Jaluzot, Beatrice (2019) “Civil Law in French Asian Colonies,” in Kaneko, Y., ed., Civil Law Reforms in Post-Colonial Asia: Beyond Western Capitalism, Singapore: Springer, 3–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (1999) “Reform Issues Concerning Vietnam’s Securities System.” 23 Hiroshima Law 149–72 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2004) The Asian Crisis and Financial Law Reform, Tokyo: Shinzansha (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2009) “A Review of Model Law in the Context of Financial Crisis: Implications for Procedural Legitimacy and Substantial Fairness of Soft Laws.” 17 Journal of International Cooperation Studies 1–16.Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2010a) “A Procedural Approach to Judicial Reform in Asia: Implications from Japanese Involvement in Vietnam.” 23 Columbia Journal of Asian Law 315–58.Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2010b) “An Alternative Way of Harmonizing Ownership with Customary Rights: Japanese Approach to Cambodian Land Reform.” 18 Journal of International Cooperation Studies 1–21.Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2011) “Accompanying Legal Transformation: Japanese Involvement in Legal and Judicial Reform,” in Cordero, J. A. S., ed., Legal Culture and Legal Transplants, Vols I and II, Paris: International Academy of Comparative Law.Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2012) “Reevaluating Model Laws: Transplant and Change of Financial Law in Vietnam.” 19 Journal of International Cooperation Studies 1–37.Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2018) Law and Development in Myanmar, Kyoto: Koyo Shobo (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2019a) “Contract Law in Myanmar: An Outcome of British Colonial Law,” in Kaneko, Y., ed., Civil Law Reforms in Post-Colonial Asia: Beyond Western Capitalism, Singapore: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2019b) “Torrens-Style Registration Systems in Development—Restoration of Colonial Land Law.” 27 Journal of International Cooperation Studies 1–17 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2020) Insolvency Law Reforms in the ASEAN Emerging Economies: The End Point of Post-Asian Crisis Legal Transplant, Singapore: Springer.Google Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka (2021) “Origin of Land Disputes: Reviving Colonial Apparatus in Land Law Reforms,” in Kaneko, Y., Kadomatsu, N., & Tamanaha, B., eds., Land Law and Disputes in Asia: In Search of an Alternative for Development, Singapore: Routledge, 3–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaneko, Yuka, & Ye, Naing Lin (2021) “Land Law and Disputes in Myanmar: A Path Overcoming the Negative Heritage of Colonial Law,” in Kaneko, Y., Kadomatsu, N., & Tamanaha, B., eds., Land Law and Disputes in Asia: In Search of an Alternative for Development, Singapore: Routledge, 244–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katakura, Minoru (1987) Fundamental Study of Vietnam’s Pre-Modern Law: “Dynastic Criminal Law” and Its Periphery, Tokyo: Kazama Shobo (in Japanese).Google Scholar
La Porta, Rafael, Lopez-De-Silanes, Florencio, & Shleifer, Andrei (2007) “The Economic Consequences of Legal Origins.” 46 Journal of Economic Literature 285–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
La Porta, Rafael, Lopez-De-Silanes, Florencio, Shleifer, Andrei, & Vishny, Robert W. (1998) “Law and Finance.” 106 Journal of Political Economy 1113–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le, Toan, & Nguyen, Hung Quan (2014) “Vietnamese Land Law and Dispute Resolution,” in Fu, H. & Gillespie, J., eds., Resolving Land Disputes in East Asia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 275–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mori, Kenji (1973) “A Study on the Theoretical Background of Ehrlich’s Sociology of Law: A Preliminary Study of the Concept of ‘Living Law’.” 11 Journal of Meiji University Graduate School of Law 385–404 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Nguyen, Hong Hai (2019) “Some Fundamental Studies on the Revised Civil Code of Vietnam 2015,” in Kaneko, Y., ed., Civil Law Reforms in Post-Colonial Asia: Beyond Western Capitalism, Singapore: Springer, 85–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okudaira, Ryuji (2002) Introduction to Burmese Legal History: The History and Role of Traditional Law, Tokyo: Nihon Tosho Kankokai (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Ono, Mikiko (1997) “Village Historical Materials in Southern Vietnam during French Military Rule.” 20 Journal of Ritsumeikan East Asian History Studies 1–9 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Pistor, Katrina, & Wellons, Phillip (1999) The Role of Law and Legal Institutions in Asian Economic Development 1960–1995, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Qiao, Shitong (2017) Chinese Small Properties: The Co-Evolution of Law and Social Norms, New York/Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudy, Lukman Hakim (2019) “The Pathway of Civil Law Development in Indonesia: Law on Land,” in Kaneko, Y., ed., Civil Law Reforms in Post-Colonial Asia: Beyond Western Capitalism, Singapore: Springer, 71–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, Teruko (1985) “Initial Land System in British Burma 1826–1876.” 23 Tonan Ajia Kenkyu. 142–54 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Suehiro, Izutaro (1924) Rural Legal Issues (Nouson Horitsu Mondai), Tokyo: Kaizosha (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Takada, Yoko (1984) “Disposal of State-Owned Land and Rice Field Development under the Early-20th Century Mekong Delta Act.” 22 Tonan Ajia Kenkyu 241–58 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Takada, Yoko (2003) “Law and Colonialism: A Study of the Introduction of French Modern Law in Vietnam.” 12 The Keiai Journal of International Studies 1–22 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Takahashi, Akio (1991) “Agricultural Land Ownership and the Commercialization of Agricultural Products in Upper Burmese Irrigated Villages: A Comparison with Lower Burmese Agricultural Villages,” in Uehara, H., ed., Land Systems and Changes in Agriculture in Southeast Asia, Tokyo: Institute of Developing Economies, 119–38 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Takahashi, Akio (2000) The Rural Economy of Modern Myanmar: Farmers and Non-Farmers under the Transition Economy, Tokyo: The University of Tokyo Press (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Torrens, Sir Robert Richard (1882) An Essay on the Transfer of Land by Registration: Under the Duplicate Method Operative in British Colonies, MOML edn, London: Cassell.Google Scholar
Toshitani, Nobuyoshi (1972) “Pre-War ‘Legal Sociology’,” in Kawashima, T., ed., Legal Sociology Series II Current Status of Legal Sociology, Tokyo: Iwanami-Shoten, 185–253 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Trzcinski, Leah M., & Upham, Frank (2014) “Creating Law from the Ground Up: Land Law in Post-Conflict Cambodia.” 1 Asian Journal of Law and Society 55–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNDP (United Nations Development Program) (2017) UNDP Myanmar-2017 Annual Report, 2013–2016 Result Report, Yangon: UNDP Myanmar.Google Scholar
UNDP/UNHABITAT/Norwegian MOFA (2009) Guidance Note on Land Issues Myanmar, Yangon: UNDP.Google Scholar
Upham, Frank (2018) The Great Property Fallacy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
USAID (US Agency for International Development) (2008) Supporting Vietnam’s Legal and Governance Transformation, Washington, DC: USAID.Google Scholar
USAID (2013) Country Profile: Property Rights and Resource Profile of Burma, Washington, DC: USAID.Google Scholar
Watson, Alan (1974) Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
World Bank (1975) World Bank Land Reform (World Bank Sector Policy Paper), Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2005) World Development Report 2005: A Better Investment Climate for Everyone, Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2011) Land Policy: Securing Rights to Reduce Poverty and Promote Rural Growth, Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2012a) Compulsory Land Acquisition and the Land Law to Enable Sustainable Development in Vietnam, World Bank Policy Paper 64891, Hanoi: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2012b) Revising the Land Law to Enable Sustainable Development in Vietnam, World Bank Policy Note, Hanoi: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2017) Towards a Sustainable Land Administration and Management System in Myanmar: Land Sector Needs Assessment Thematic Policy Notes—Policy Note 5 Property Valuation and Taxation, Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Zweigert, Konrad, & Köts, Hein (1998) An Introduction to Comparative Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar