Up to 1983, materials on the law of China and Taiwan were collected mostly in English and French. After that date they have also been collected in Chinese.
Our Chinese collection is currently maintained at a level between Research and Advanced Research levels, as defined by research libraries nationally, and we have put in place a bold plan to reach the Advanced Research level within the next decade.
The library collects primary materials for China, such as collections of laws in the vernacular, collections of laws in English, collections of judicial interpretations, collections of regulations relating to foreign affairs, taxes and income, finance, banking, labor, and the stock exchange. In collecting secondary materials, the library will concentrate on acquiring reference books, legal yearbooks, outlines of legal development since 1949, comprehensive legal dictionaries, topical legal dictionaries, selected handbooks, selected treatises, and legal serials.
For Taiwan the library plans to acquire materials on commercial law, including corporate law, financial law, banking law, legal materials about developing a relationship between Taiwan and China, and law relating to the constitution and party system of Taiwan.
For texts of laws and regulations of China in English translation, you may want to visit the China Law, Justice and Legal Services Web Page.
The library subscribes to several Chinese legal databases, including ChinaLawInfo, China Law and Practice and Isinolaw. These can be accessed from our Electronic Resources Page.
In addition, the Columbia Law School sponsors the Chinese Legal Studies Center which publishes the Columbia Journal of Asian Law (formerly known as the Journal of Chinese Law ).
