THE DISCIPLINE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN REPUBLICAN CHINA AND CONTEMPORARY TAIWAN

Abstract

This Article examines the evolution of international law as a professional and intellectual discipline in the Republic of China (ROC), which has governed Mainland China (1912-1949) and post-1949 Taiwan. The ROC`s centennial development fundamentally shaped modern China`s course of foreign relations and postwar global governance. The Article argues that statism, pragmatism, and idealism define the major features of the ROC`s approach to international law. These characteristics transformed the law of nations into universally valid normative claims and prompted modern China`s intellectual focus on the civilized nation concept. First, the Article analyzes the professionalization of the discipline of international law. It offers insight into the cultivation of China`s firstgeneration international lawyers in the Foreign Ministry, international law societies, and the Shanghai Mixed Court. Second, it explores the ROC`s approach of assertive legalism in applying international law to advance diplomatic objectives. The nation`s strategic engagement with unequal treaties, the League of Nations, and the United Nations contributed to its Grotian moment. The assertion of legal claims in judicial proceedings and Taiwan`s international standing further reinforced the dynamic dimension of the discipline. Therefore, this Article provides a valuable case study of twentieth century international lawmaking in East Asia.