THEORISING THE GLOBAL LEGAL ORDER
21 - 22 May 2008
School of Law, Swansea University,
Wales, UK
OVERVIEW:
Academic literature within law and elsewhere is replete
with works addressing various aspects of globalisation.
Nevertheless, there is a recognised paucity of theoretical
underpinning for the development of law as an academic
discipline into the broader territory that current global
trends now present. Part of the explanation for this state
of affairs is that in confronting the novel extensions to
the concerns of academic law, new perspectives have been
borrowed from other disciplines rather than working through
the consequences for a distinctively legal approach (no
matter how much resonance with other disciplines such an
approach might ultimately enjoy). Another contributory
factor is that the explosion of new types of legal
phenomena in the global arena has multiplied issues to
address faster than any developing theory can keep up with
them. And a related factor is that where theory has
succeeded in developing to a significant extent it has
tended to be confined to dealing with a particular aspect
of the subject matter or to expounding a particular
theoretical perspective.
The rationale for the conference lies in seeking to bring
together a number of disparate and often inchoate concerns
about theorising law in the global context - concerns that
may focus on constitutionalist frameworks or on culturalist
forces, that may be inspired by traditional insights of the
peculiarly institutional nature of law or be captivated by
the potential for law to be transformed by extra-legal
impulses - and by providing a venue for debate,
engagement, and exploration of ideas, to broaden the
understanding of academic lawyers of the issues and
openings for further work in what amounts to a critical
area of legal research and scholarship.
The conference programme has been given a distinctive
structure so as to encourage fruitful interaction between
wider reflection on overarching themes and detailed
investigation of specific topics that in different ways
illustrate the implications of globalisation for law. The
structure is also designed to provide delegates with the
opportunity of contributing during the course of the
conference to the development of thinking on theorising the
global legal order. Patrick Glenn, Neil MacCormick, Stefan
Oeter and William Twining have accepted invitations to
present scoping papers, and a number of scholars from a
variety of jurisdictions representing different academic
interests have responded with papers on specific topics
ranging across four basic themes: THE TRANSMISSION OF LAW
ACROSS BOUNDARIES, HARMONISATION OF LAW, FINDING A COMMON
LANGUAGE FOR GLOBAL LAW, and THE CREATIVE IMPULSE IN GLOBAL
LAW.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Full details of the Conference are available on the
conference website:
http://www.juris.hokudai.ac.jp/~hasegawa/TGLO.htm
A limited number of places remain for those wishing to
attend as delegates. Please contact the Conference
Administrator:
CONTACT: Gaynor Paterson
Email: MAILTO:g.d.paterson@swansea.ac.uk
Posted 4/10/08
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