Editorial

• Author: Editor-in-Chief
• Pages: 4-5

Page 4

2009 started with a heartbreaking tragedy! More than thousands of civilians were killed in Gaza due to the Israeli bombing. Bodies of children lying down on the streets symbolized the injustice and illegality of contemporary world community. Who gave the right to commit such brutal violence towards innocent spirits? History never forgets the cruelty against human dignity. East Asia is the first to realize such idea because most of the countries in this region were colonized by the western powers before World War II. The papers in this Journal would be the sincere protest from the bottom of people’s heart in this region. JEAIL is trying to emphasize the achievement of legal scholarship against the demolition of humanity.

The last issue of the Journal was quite fruitful. Two papers on Legal Autonomy of Tibet were timely released, and their opposite viewpoints drew much attention from international community; highly established international newspapers such as New York Times and Le Monde reported the papers and the authors. A leading article of Professor Valerie Epps was registered as a top-ten research paper at the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), one of the most influential academic websites in English speaking world.

Now, we have delightfully launched Volume 2, Number 1 of the Journal. More drafts were submitted at this time compared to the previous issues, and it was very challenging to select qualified papers among them. In particular, we set up a special issue focusing on one topic, Islamic World and International Law. A number of Muslim lawyers analyzed current world affairs, from self-defense to human right in a genuine Islamic point of view. This is a unique topic which may not be easily found at western academic law journals. JEAIL fully appreciates the scholars from Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia and Russia, who have contributed to the Journal. We expect these papers to help non- Muslims maintain a fair and balanced perspective on Islamic world, and people with different religions to coexist peacefully in the global community. Also, at this issue, the Journal is publishing a number of valuable articles contributed by legal scholars from China, India...