The Institute of Comparative Law in Japan, a proud part of Chuo University, was founded in 1948 with a view to contributing to world peace by facilitating international as well as domestic cooperation of scholars in the field of comparative legal studies. The Institute, which was the first of this sort to appear in the Far East, was designated in 1954 as a center for comparative law studies in Asia by the International Conference of Comparative Law, held in Barcelona. It has developed various programs in pursuit of its founding spirit. In 1998, the institute saw the 50th anniversary, and held a commemorative ceremony at which commemorative lectures were held successfully. At present, the main constituent members of the Institute are from the academic staff in charge of legal education at Chuo University. There are, however, a number of guest fellows taking an active part in research. The Institute also invites outstanding scholars from overseas to give special lectures and seminars. In addition to encouraging individual research, the Institute organizes project teams to conduct systematic research on various subjects of comparative law. Works produced by fellows of the Institute are published either as monographs or as contributions to the Institute's quarterly journal "Hikakuho Zasshi" (Comparative Law Review). The Institute has published five commemorative publications to date, each published respectively on the occasion of its 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, and 50th anniversary. Also, at the 50th anniversary, "Nihon Hikakuho Kenkyujyo Gojyunenshi" (The 50-year History of the Institute) was published. Apart from the huge collection of legal materials in the Central Library of Chuo University, the Institute provides a separate working library for researchers with its collection of approximately 47,000 legal volumes compiled from the major jurisdictions of the world.