The Clinical Movement in Southeast Asia and India: A Comparative Perspective and Lessons to be Learned

Abstract

© 2011 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. This chapter focuses on the recent development of clinical legal education in a number of Southeast Asian nations, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, along with a comparative analysis of this development with that of the longer-existing clinical movement in India. It explores the means and methods utilized-and challenges faced-in establishing such programs, many of which now contain a social justice mission. It also describes how clinical programs operate in sharp contrast to traditional law teaching methods in the region that focused historically on rote memorization without teaching lawyering skills. The chapter notes specific benchmark events in the development of clinics in the region and highlights a number of the key actors, organizations, and institutions involved. It also explores ways that these new clinical programs can serve as positive examples for the future expansion of clinical education throughout the region.