The rule of avoidance employed during the Han dynasty, and persisted through various subsequent dynasties and continues to influence the appointment of local government leaders in the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, prohibited local officials from serving in their places of origin, so that family and friends would not influence them and prevent the potential separatism movement.
In the time of Emperor Akbar of the Mughal Empire (in the area of what is now India, Pakistan and Afghanistan), a system similar to this was put into place to ensure smooth running of government and to prevent corruption.
[citation needed] Government officials were not allowed to serve in one jurisdiction for long so that they did not become too involved in local affairs and become stronger than the Emperor himself.
The rule of avoidance employed by the United States Supreme Court is a principle called Ashwander rules, settled in Ashwander v. TVA (297 US 288, 346-347 (1936)), that where a controversy may be settled on a platform other than one involving constitutional adjudication, the court should avoid the constitutional question.
It was articulated by Justice Louis D. Brandeis, are a set of principles used by the United States Supreme Court for avoiding constitutional rulings.