Conference Announcement: Theorising the Global Legal Order

                   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