ABSTRACT
One index of socioeconomic development is the legal system. In Western countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, a robust and independent legal system has paralleled socioeconomic developments. This chapter provides an overview of the legal systems in Hong Kong, Mainland China, South Korea, and Japan and to compare the jury systems in these jurisdictions. It examines factors affecting jury decision-making in the Asian context. A former British colony, the legal system in Hong Kong resembles the system in England and Wales to a greater degree than it does the system in Mainland China. The jury system in Hong Kong has been in operation, the longest-running jury system in East Asia. The importance of the jury is also recognised in Article 86 of the Basic Law, which stipulates "the principle of trial by jury previously practised in Hong Kong shall be maintained."
