In Asian contexts, legal consciousness is typically shaped by the interaction of “modern” legal institutions and processes on the one hand and longstanding social practices on the other.

It is never enough simply to ask how people think and act in relation to state law. Rather, it is essential to ask how customary norms and practices influence the way people perceive situations in which the law might play a role - particularly when the law is seldom invoked or even considered. Some of the most impressive studies by law and society scholars in Asia have explored legal consciousness by considering the extent to which traditional prac­tices persist or are transformed or supplanted. The following article is an example.

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