Asian Law Center
Recent Ph.D. Graduates
Toshitaka Kudo earned his Ph.D. in Winter 2009. His dissertation is entitled: Changes to the Civil Procedure Law and Regulations Prompted by Specialized Litigation - The U.S. and the Japanese Patent Invalidation Procedures. His project dealt with how challenges to patent validity have become an important industrial strategy in both Japan and the U.S. and how pressure is exerted on both the court system and administrative agencies in both countries. Dr. Kudo argues for civil procedure reforms in both the U.S. and Japan. Kudo is currently a government lawyer at the Ministry of Justice in Tokyo.
Hendrianto earned his Ph.D. in Fall 2008. His dissertation is entitled: From Humble Beginnings to a Functioning Court: the Indonesian Constitutional Court, 2003 – 2008. Hendrianto’s dissertation centers on the struggle to construct judicial review in the Indonesian Constitutional Court during a transition period, and focus on the main contributing factors to the development of the Indonesian Constitutional Court into a functioning institution.
Patricia Goedde earned her Ph.D. in Winter 2008. Her dissertation is entitled: How and to What Extent Activist Lawyers Have Mobilized the law for Social and Political Change: 1988-2007. This dissertation challenges the assumption that lawyers are marginal political actors in South Korea, which has a civil law tradition. It argues that a small but growing subset of the legal profession—activist lawyers—have been major agents for social and political change in South Korea during the last two decades. Patti is now Assistant Professor of Law at Sunkyunkwan University in Korea.
Kurnia Toha earned his Ph.D. in Autumn 2007. His dissertation, entitled The Struggle Over Land Rights: A Study of Indigenous Property Rights in Indonesia, examines Indonesian government policy on land tenure, especially on communal land rights. Enormous conflicts have arisen on communal land rights across Indonesia that involve the state, tribes/people, and companies. This study examines the experience of Malaysia and Australia and attempts to find solutions for these problems. Kurnia is now Associate Professor of Law at the University of Indonesia.
Chih-Wei Tsai (Awi Mona) earned his Ph.D. in Spring 2007. His dissertation is entitled: Principles of Aboriginal Title and Self-Determination: Legal Justification for Indigenous Self-Government in Taiwan. Himself a member of the Sediq (Atayal) tribe of Taiwan, his academic interests include Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Taiwan, and International Human Rights. Awi is Assistant Professor at the National Taitung University, Graduate Institute of Austronesian Studies.
Tomi Suryo Utomo earned his Ph.D. in Winter 2007. His dissertation, entitled Indonesian Drug Policy and Patent Regulation After the TRIPS Agreement: Better Access to Essential Medicines? , focuses on the protection of pharmaceutical patents in Indonesia and its impact on the public health sector. Tomi is currently Assistant Professor of Law at Sanabadra University, Indonesia.
Kyoko Ishida earned her Ph.D. in Summer 2006. Her dissertation is entitled Japanese Lawyers and Japanese Justice – Ethics and Regulations of Japanese Lawyers in a New Century. Various professions other than attorneys (bengoshi) provide different legal services in Japan. Recent justice system reforms expanded the scopes of these professions in order to promote citizens’ access to legal services. This dissertation examines the ethical standards and regulation of these professions. Kyoko is currently Research Associate at Waseda University Institute of Comparative Law in Japan.
Chang-Su Choe earned his Ph.D. in Spring 2006. His dissertation is entitled: Antitrust Adaptation of Economic Analysis for Inferring Concerted Conduct from Competitors’ Parallel Pricing: Insights and Directions to Strengthen Korean Antitrust Jurisprudence . Chang-su is currently partner at SKY Patent & Law Firm in Korea, dealing with international business transactions, intellectual property laws, and antitrust matters. He is also counsel for several corporations and universities.