Publication of Comparing Comparative Law

This publication follows on the conference which took place on October , 23rd 2015 at the University of Fribourg in collaboration with the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, the IAS-Nantes and the support of the Swiss Confederation’s (Sefri) State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation.

The aim of this volume is to compare how we do comparative law. So-doing, it contributes to discussions in the theory of comparative law. It does not proceed in the usual way, however, but adopts a comparative, inclusive and discursive perspective. More specifically, the volume aims at broaching three questions: (1) what is being compared when comparing law (the object of comparison: e.g. what exactly among legal norms, from which legal sources and from which jurisdictions, but also maybe from which other sources of normativity outside the law?), (2) what comparing (law) means (the nature and aims of comparison: e.g. is it about understanding, interpreting, distinguishing, systematizing, justifying, criticizing and/or reforming (one’s or others’) law?); (3) and how comparing law works (the process of comparison; e.g. what are its methods, actors and outcomes?). Of course, the three questions are interrelated and are only separated for the sake of clarity in the discussion.

Besson, Samantha, Heckendorn Urscheler, Lukas Jubé, Samuel (eds), Comparing Comparative Law Publications de l’Institut suisse de droit comparé, 82, Schulthess Verlag, Zürich 2017, 220 pages.