The Centre for Asian Legal Studies – Thammasat University Faculty of Law Peer Learning Initiative, or CATPLI, is a student-led project that was started in 2021, and formally launched in 2022, with the long-term goal of promoting direct knowledge exchange and academic collaboration between the law students at the National University of Singapore and Thammasat University. In this regard, CATPLI works closely with its sister project, the Thammasat University Comparative Legal Studies, also known as TUCLS.

 

WORKSHOP 2026 (16 and 17 July 2026)

The Centre for Asian Legal Studies is excited to collaborate with Thammasat University Faculty of Law to organise the Symposium on Civil and Common Law Traditions in Asia: Convergence, Divergence, and Coexistence. This will be held in-person in Bangkok, Thailand, on 16-17 July 2026.

The Symposium seeks to cast a spotlight on the dynamic intersection of common law and civil law traditions in Asia. It provides a platform to examine how these two foundational legal families interact, converge, and diverge within Asian jurisdictions. By bringing together leading scholars from across the region, the Symposium highlights Asia as a critical site where comparative legal theory meets lived constitutionalism, and where questions of legal identity, institutional design, and jurisprudential methodology are being actively negotiated.

To foster law students' interest in Asia and in the intersections between the common law and civil law traditions, the Symposium will feature a dedicated Student Research Workshop consisting of two panels.

The Centre will be represented at the Symposium by Associate Professor Jaclyn Neo, Professor Andrew Harding, Associate Professor Gary Bell, Dr Teng Li, Dr Sarah Bishop, Mr Toh Ding Jun, Ms Emma Shuen Lee, Mr James Ham, Mr Joshua Tay, Mr Joshua Poon, and Mr Rayson Ng. Scholars from Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, China, Japan, and Australia will also be presenting their research at the Symposium.

To find out more: https://law.nus.edu.sg/cals/events/tu-cals-symposium-on-civil-and-common-law-traditions-in-asia-convergence-divergence-and-co-existence/

 

RECIPROCAL WORKSHOP 2026 (24 January 2026 & 31 January 2026): 

CATPLI’s third reciprocal workshop titled "An Introduction to the Basics of Thai Corporate Law" introduced Singaporean law students to the basic principles of corporate law in Thailand. Organised and conducted by students from Thammasat University Faculty of Law, this workshop consists of three two-hour sessions and was conducted in hybrid fashion with one online session on Saturday, 24 January 2026, and two in-person sessions at the National University of Singapore's Kent Ridge Campus on Saturday, 31 January 2026.

CATPLI 2026 PROJECT TEAM: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past Workshops

Since 2022, CATPLI has successfully planned and organised the following workshops, introducing Thai law students to various aspects of Singaporean law:

INAUGURAL WORKSHOP | WORKSHOP 2 | WORKSHOP 3 | WORKSHOP 4

In 2024, TUCLS successfully planned and organised its inaugural reciprocal workshop, introducing Singaporean law students to the Thai legal system, as well as Thai contract law:

INAUGURAL WORKSHOP | WORKSHOP 2

CATPLI Writes

In 2022, CATPLI and TUCLS jointly launched a new sub-initiative, called CATPLI Writes. As its overarching aim, CATPLI Writes aims to promote student scholarship amongst the law students of both faculties by providing a platform for students to showcase their legal research, thinking, and writing skills. The first tranche of articles was successfully published with the Singapore Law Review, as a special volume.

This project is a collaboration between the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and Thammasat University Faculty of Law. For enquiries, please contact the CALS at: cals@nus.edu.sg.