The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies is the leading UK institute for the study of law in society. It is known world-wide for its innovative research and publications. The emphasis throughout the Centre's history has been on the empirical and theoretical study of law, with the view to understanding its place and role in society. Good empirical research is, we believe, based on sound theoretical ideas and contributes to their further development. The Centre's approach is multi- and inter-disciplinary: our researchers come from a wide range of scholarly backgrounds, including law, anthropology, sociology, political science, economics and psychology, and they often work together on projects that bridge disciplinary divides.
The Centre places a strong emphasis on the training of research students and the student body is drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds, both geographical and academic. Among several other extracurricular opportunities available to students at the University of Oxford, students at the Centre are encouraged to participate in the student-managed Socio-Legal Discussion Group and the University of Oxford Socio-Legal Review (OSLR) to gain further experience in the presentation and publication of socio-legal research.
Alongside the Centre's own research staff, we also have a group of Associate Research Fellows and a vibrant programme for Academic Visitors, who contribute to the extensive programe of research seminars and other activities at the Centre and often engage in joint research with its members.
The research interests of the Centre may be divided into the following broad and over-lapping streams:
1. Constitutions and Public Law
This strand of research is concerned with the underlying social structure of public law, and the role of courts and other dispute resolution mechanisms in the formulation of public policy. It incorporates a distinct programme of research on The Social Foundations of Public Law.
The study of lawyers and court use in England and Europe and research into the judiciary in Eastern Europe complements two distinct research programmes:
A number of related both theoretical and empirical projects concern the ways in which modern law seeks to change behaviour in order to accomplish social and economic goals in the public interest.
4. Sociological and anthropological approaches to law
Empirical methodologies are used to probe the nature of law and justice through the study of legal systems and practices, both within and outside the advanced industrialised democracies.
A distinct research and policy programme brings together scholars, policymakers and practitioners to study contemporary issues in global media law and policy.
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