Welcome to the inaugural issue of Thai Legal Studies, a new open-access academic journal, published by the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Thai legal studies present a growing field of study in English-language academic literature. Academic work by Thai scholars and international scholars who work on Thailand is now appearing in many places, and several books have appeared in recent times. This field has now reached a level of activity and maturity that merits an academic journal in English. The so-called “pivot to Asia” has embraced work on China and India. Both of these countries have specialised academic journals in English devoted to their law and legal development, and we believe Southeast Asia is the next focus for comparative work. It is also significant that Thai law contains both civil law and common law components, and is increasingly eclectic in its models for law reform. We believe the pages of this journal will bear out this assertion.