John W. Head
John W. Head holds the Robert W. Wagstaff Distinguished Professorship at the University of Kansas School of Law, where he concentrates on international and comparative law. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia, an English law degree from Oxford University (1977), and his US law degree from the University of Virginia (1979).
Subjects: Law
Biography
Before starting an academic career, John worked in the Washington, DC office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton (1980 – 1983), at the Asian Development Bank in Manila (1983 – 1988), and at the International Monetary Fund in Washington (1988 – 1990).He has recently focused his research on legal and policy aspects of agricultural reform, agroecology, and environmental sustainability. Both his teaching and his published works concentrate in the areas of international law, international business, comparative law, and international economic development, with a special focus on Chinese law. He has also written numerous monographs, articles and other works relating to international law, some of which have been published in Chinese and Indonesian. Titles of his more recent books include: International Law and Agroecological Husbandry; Great Legal Traditions; Global Business Law; Legal Transparency in Dynastic China; and Global Regimes to Protect the World’s Grasslands.
Mr. Head has been awarded Fulbright teaching and research fellowships to China, Italy, and Canada, and has also taught in Austria, Hong Kong, Jordan, Mexico, Mongolia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom and has undertaken special assignments in numerous locations for international financial institutions and development agencies.
Mr. Head is married to Lucia Orth, who is a lawyer, teacher, and novelist. They live southwest of Lawrence, Kansas, on a farm where they have recently completed a four-year prairie-restoration project and are now embarked on a forest-restoration project.
Education
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Juris Doctor, University of Virginia School of Law, 1979
M.A. Juris, Oxford university (University College), 1977
B.A. University of Missouri, 1975
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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International law, international business, comparative law, international economic development, agricultural law, legal and policy aspects of agricultural reform, agroecology, and environmental sustainability
Books
Articles
Opposing Legal Transparency in Dynastic China: The Persuasive Logic of Confucian
Published: Jan 01, 2014 by Research Handbook on Transparency
Authors: John W. Head (Padideh Ala'i and Robert Vaughn, editors)
Subjects:
Law
This chapter focuses on legal transparency, that is, how much knowledge about legal rules (and punishments) should be public. Head describes conflict between Legalists and Confucianists on this point. From the Confucian perspective of a good society, one based on rituals and clans, transparency of legal rules undermined rather than supported such a society. Knowledge of legal rules and punishments encouraged calculation and evasion, reducing the influence and control of the emperor and . . .
Criminal Procedure in Transition: Observations on Legal Transplantation and Ital
Published: Jan 01, 2014 by Festschrift in Honor of Feridun Yenisey
Authors: John W. Head (Ayse Nohuoglu, editor)
Subjects:
Law
Observations on Legal Transplantation and Italy's Handling of the Amanda Knox Trial While there are undoubtedly several immutable principles of criminal procedure - fair treatment of persons under investigation, competent handling of evidence, adequate opportunity to mount a defense, independence and integrity of judges, and the like - the existence of some structural and ideological differences amount various countries in their response to criminal conduct is natural and legitimate.
Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis in Comparative Perspective:
Published: Nov 01, 2013 by Mediterranean Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2013
Authors: John W. Head
Subjects:
Law
Illuminating Key Differences Between the Civil, Common, and Chinese Legal Traditions In commissioning and promulgating his famous Digest—part of his sixth-century legal compilation known as the Corpus Juris Civilis—the Emperor Justinian helped ensure that continental European law would be horizontal, written, scholarly, and historical.
Legal Counsel, Legal Analysis, and Legal Limits: The Role of Law & Lawyers in
Published: Mar 30, 2012 by International Economic Organizations and Law
Authors: John W. Head (editors Asif H. Qureshi & Xuan Gao)
Subjects:
Law
There can be little doubt that a group of prominent and influential organizations lie at the heart of international economic law (IEL). These include the Bretton Woods institutions, regional development banks and economic organizations, and various specialized global institutions primarily active in norm generation. This volume presents the perspectives - institutional and personal - of legal counsels in some key international economic organizations regarding their work and the role of law . . .
Civilization and Law: A Dark Optimism Based on the Precedent of Unprecedented Cr
Published: Jun 30, 2011 by 59 U. Kan. L. Rev. 521 (2011)
Authors: John W. Head
Subjects:
Law
Civilization and Law: A Dark Optimism Based on the Precedent of Unprecedented Crises Civilization has come under intense attack in the past 100 years. Over those same 100 years, law--and in particular a multilateral approach to law--has made an essential contribution to repelling those attacks and preserving civilization. The attacks continue today--and so a great challenge of our time is to decide how to harness the power of a multilateral approach to law in order to meet these attacks.
Int'l Legal Regimes to Balance the Protection of Prairies & Grasslands with Thei
Published: Oct 13, 2010 by CITA Working Paper No. 1-2010
Authors: John W. Head
Subjects:
Law
Abstract: Grasslands abound on Earth, but humans have damaged them profoundly. This paper - part of a book project focusing on the international legal regimes needed to strike an appropriate balance between the protection of grassland areas and their use for agricultural production - identifies where grasslands are located, what makes them distinct parts of our natural order, how they have been degraded, and why that matters.
Feeling the Stones When Crossing the River: The Rule of Law in China
Published: Jun 30, 2010 by 7 Santa Clara Journal of International Law 2 (2010)
Authors: John W. Head
Subjects:
Law
This article takes two perspectives not commonly found in the extensive literature that has emerged recently on the subject of "rule of law" in China. First, it examines the rule of law in contemporary China by offering comparisons with the rule of law in dynastic China, on grounds that it is impossible to understand today's China without understanding its past. Second, it surveys the views of several contemporary Chinese legal scholars writing in Chinese for their national (Chinese) audience.
The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 in Context--Reflections on Internationa
Published: Jan 01, 2010 by 23 Pac. McGeorge Global Bus. & Dev. L.J. 43 (2010)
Authors: John W. Head
Subjects:
Law
This was a contribution to a symposium on the world financial crisis. Head traces how the crisis unfolded and what institutional responses it elicited, especially at the international level. He places special emphasis on the International Monetary Fund and its performance and future prospects. He explains the broader picture of financial crises into which this one fits, by surveying several 20th century episodes of financial chaos. He identifies several specific legal & institutional failings.