Practice and theory in comparative law

What does doing comparative law involve? Too often, explicit methodological discussions in comparative law remain limited to the level of pure theory, neglecting to test out critiques and recommendations on concrete issues. This book bridges this gap between theory and practice in comparative legal studies. Essays by both established and younger comparative lawyers reflect on the methodological challenges arising in their own work and in work in their area. Taken together, they offer clear recommendations for, and critical reflection on, a wide range of innovative comparative research projects.

Cover; PRACTICE AND THEORY IN COMPARATIVE LAW; Title; Copyright; CONTENTS; CONTRIBUTORS; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; 1: Comparing law: practice and theory; Comparative law practice and theory: the 'missing middle'; Comparative law as disciplined practice; Questions and theories; Question-driven methodological choices; Theory-driven methodological choices; Comparative law as applied legal theory?; (Inter)disciplinarity; The 'internal perspective' and the turn to jurisprudence; The turn to social science; Bridging the disciplines; Functionalism and beyond; Moderate and refined functionalism.

Neutrality and its limitsInteracting legal orders and 'dynamic comparisons'; Outlook and structure of this volume; Contributions and topics: a very short readers' guide; 2: Reflections on comparative law methodology -- getting inside contract law; Introduction; Preliminaries; 1. The starting-point; 2. The reconstruction; (i) The materials for reconstruction; (ii) The reconstruction process; 3. The comparison; Conclusion; 3: Reasoning with previous decisions; Introduction; The project; In search of a theory.

Comparative study as an empirical ground for theory and a corrective of its hidden biasesConceptua…