Courts and Justice Systems
A number of researchers explore the roles played by courts, the judiciary and lawyers in the contemporary world, and how they interact with other institutions, both formal and informal in the delivery of justice. Projects range from the proposals for reform of civil justice procedure to the non-legal processes that purport to deliver justice. Within this stream of research two distinct programmes have also been established:
Research topics
European Civil Justice Systems (Professor Chris Hodges, Dr Iris Benohr, Dr Naomi-Creutzfeldt-Banda, Dr Sweta Chakraborty, Dr. Rebecca Money-Kyrle and Dr. Chris Decker)
This research programme encompasses a comparative examination of dispute resolution mechanisms, encompassing courts, tribunals, ombudsmen, compensation schemes, arbitration, mediation, business codes of conduct or other alternative dispute resolution systems. It aims to analyse the principles and procedures that should, or do, apply and to evaluate effectiveness and outcomes. The project is significant in the context of an increasing amount of change in European national civil justice systems, notably in relation to:
- the reform of civil procedure rules;
- the spread of collective, representative, class or group action mechanisms, whether for damages or injunctive relief, including the use of private law remedies as adjuncts to the enforcement of public law regulation;
- developments in funding mechanisms for civil claims, such as legal aid, contingency fees, conditional fee agreements, third party funding, insurance support;
- the spread of small claims and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
For more details please see the European Civil Justice Systems page.
Judicial Supremacy: Origins and Consequences for Europe (Dr Cristina Parau)
Funded by the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, the British Academy and the John Fell Fund (Oxford) this project investigates how ideas regarding the relation of the judiciary and the rest of society have percolated into Europe from the US. Dr. Parau is empirically research by what pathways the US model of judicial supremacy has come to pervade European thinking and whether it is becoming the norm throughout post-communist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and elsewhere in Europe. Her previous research on the judiciary, undertaken under a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship investigated judicial reform and the relationship between the judiciary and the elected branches of government in selected CEE countries. Prior to this she researched the influence of the EU on State-civil society relations in Eastern Europe, and proposed a novel causal mechanism – the exploitation of accession uncertainty by transnational networks – that explains puzzling variability in influence wielded by the EU over post-Communist candidate governments.
Court constructions of human rights law (Dr David Erdos)
The role of courts in shaping human rights law, especially through their interpretation of the meaning of bills of rights, human rights acts and data protection/privacy laws.
The English Bar (Dr Fernanda Pirie)
In this new research project Fernanda Pirie is asking how the internal structures, practices, beliefs and values of the Bar and its members relate to the practice and provision of justice and to the survival of the profession through a period of extensive review and reform.
Justice in War (Janina Dill)
The effectiveness of International Humanitarian Law in US Air Warfare: This doctoral dissertation project is a philosophical investigation of the international law of armed conflict, and in particular the legal regime governing the definition of a legitimate target of attack. The research focuses on the question whether international law can regulate combat operations effectively in the two-pronged sense that the law not only has a discernable impact on the conduct of hostilities (behavioural relevance), but that this impact also leads to normatively more desirable outcomes (normative success). In exploring this question, the dissertation draws on insights from law, philosophy and IR theory, and takes up and contributes to contemporary debates in each of these fields.
Transitional Justice Research
This programme brings together a network of researchers based in departments throughout the University, to explore the objectives, methods and impact of transitional justice processes around the world, focusing on the work of international, national and community-based courts in transitional societies. It draws on field-based, qualitative analysis of the role of courts and other institutions in addressing human rights violations and pursuing ends such as justice, peace, truth and reconciliation. For more details please see the Oxford Transitional Justice Research pages.
Students working in this area
