The Methodology and the Culture of Comparative Law Review of The Method and the Culture of Comparative Law. Essays in Honour of Mark Van Hoecke / M. Adams, D. Heirbraut (eds.).Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2014. 328 p.

Abstract

The present article is a review of the book which had been dedicated to the 65th anniversary of theGhent University professor Mark Van Hoecke. Starting from a short characterization of the contribution made by Mark Van Hoecke to the contemporary comparative law, the author consequently analyzes allthe papers which have been included into the reviewed collective monograph. The author also makescritical assessments of some of these papers. The reviewed book allows getting an idea about themultifaceted approach to methodology of comparative law in the Western legal science. It also canbecome an important tool for Russian comparativists. Almost every essay of this book reveal ways ofconducting comparative research outside the analytical comparison of normative legal texts and legalinstitutes, the sociological comparison of functions performed by these texts and institutes. The authorunderlines the importance of the methodological standpoint employed in most of the essays — the deep level investigation into legal phenomena, which implies a comprehensive analysis of all facetsof social life in order to reveal differences between the compared norms, institutes, legal mentalities.In this perspective a particular role in constructing the methodology of comparative law belongs totheoretical and philosophical frameworks. That is why the attention in this book is focused on thetheory of “Law as Communication” elaborated by Mark Van Hoecke. Intersubjective communication,coordination of meaningful comportment, interpretation of texts and other communicative actions takeplace within certain institutionally shaped societal context. This approach to analysis and comparisonyields the possibility to create a general methodological framework for understanding law in a widesocial-philosophical perspective. This standpoint serves as an important methodological principle forcomparative analysis of legal cultures. In the opinion of those who authored the reviewed book, it isimpossible to conduct comparative legal studies without taking account of this principle.