I recently gave a talk for the Foundations of Ius Commune programme of the Ius Commune research school. The focus of the talk was on evaluations and recommendations in legal research – how do we approach and justify evaluative conclusions and normative recommendations in legal research?
Legal philosophy and the foundations of ius commune
This lecture focuses on normative evaluations and recommendations in ius commune research, through the lens of legal theory and legal philosophy. It situates evaluative questions such as “should the law change?”, “should harmonization occur?” and recommendations as to the form that changes in the law should take in a broader picture of legal research, emphasising the importance of normative standards in this connection. At the same time, the lecture will also point to how these questions rely on factual and conceptual assumptions about the impact of legal change on society in general. This demonstrates how evaluative questions open legal research to other disciplines.
You can find a pdf of the presentation here. If you have comments or questions about it or would like to discuss, feel free to reach out. (And of course, please assume that any and all nuance lacking in what’s on the page was added in the presentation! 😉)
AM Waltermann 