We learned of a call for papers
for a new collaborative research project on decolonial comparative law by the
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg.
Here the call:
Call for papers: Decolonial
Comparative Law Workshop 6 October 2020
Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract submission deadline: 6
February 2020 Draft paper submission deadline: 20 August 2020
The Max Planck Institute for
Comparative Law (Hamburg) and the University of the Witwatersrand
School of Law will host a one-day
workshop on decolonial comparative law on 6 October 2020 at the University of
Witwatersrand (Johannesburg). The workshop precedes the International Academy
of Comparative Law Thematic Congress on “Diversity and Plurality in Law,” which
takes places 7-9 October in Pretoria (South Africa). (Our workshop is not
connected to the International Congress and participation in our workshop is
not limited to or dependent on attendance of the International Congress.)
THEME: Although traditional
comparative law methods have been criticized for several decades now, a clear
alternative has not emerged. Debates between doctrinal, functionalist, and
culturalist comparatists remain unresolved. One reason may be that despite such
differences, a deeper, and problematic, agreement remains intact: agreement on
certain ideas of law (as a matter of expertise) and of society (as either
already or seeking to be liberal/democratic) that emerged within a European
colonial context. Conventional comparative law—with all its valuable
methodological and theoretical disagreements—remains mired within a Eurocentric
paradigm encompassing the objects of comparison (too often civil vs common law)
and theoretical and methodological presuppositions (the concept of law, the
role of the state and of community, the mode of thought, etc.). Because
conventional comparative law is mired in colonial epistemologies, we seek to
explore decolonial comparative law. Decolonial theory is a school of critical
theory developed by scholars (primarily in South America) engaging with the
epistemological distinctiveness of coloniality in settler-colonies, as compared
to colonies. (Decolonial theory is related to, but different from,
decolonization, a historical process by which colonized states become formally
independent. By way of example, whereas decolonization necessitates
redistribution of property, decolonial theory necessitates a radical rethinking
of property.) Decolonial scholars emphasize that modernity and coloniality are
inseparable, such that the world today is dominated by the epistemic
assumptions of modernity/coloniality. To overcome the hegemony of modernity,
decolonial theorists call for pluriversality. Pluriversality rejects
universality and emphasizes the simultaneous legitimacy of multiple traditions
and social orderings from intellectual—not only geographic—borderlands. A basic
presumption of decolonial theory is that the native/indigenous societies that
were nearly eradicated by settler-colonialism are important sources of resistance
to European epistemological hegemony. Our project brings together the broad
insights and challenging ideas of decolonial theory to the field of comparative
law. We are interested in both identifying the colonial structures and
presuppositions in conventional comparative law and examining what a decolonial
comparative law could look like and what it could achieve. Such a program
operates both on a theoretical and a practical level, bringing together
concrete case studies and theoretical considerations. Most importantly,
decolonial comparative law is a pluriversal project that includes multiple
voices and perspectives, rather than reinforcing coloniality through a
European-dominated effort of decolonization. To that end, our project
emphasizes giving voice and authority to legal scholars in the global South.
(We invite those interested to view and to suggest additions to our
work-inprogress bibliographies of decolonial theory and decolonial legal
studies: http://www.mpipriv.de/decolonial)
We invite papers that address any
aspect of decolonial comparative law, including: • How was the development of
the modern discipline of comparative law in nineteenthcentury Europe
intertwined with European colonialism? • How do legal transplants manifest
coloniality? • How do both functionalist and culturalist methods reflect
particular colonial ideas of the relation between law and society? • What were
the premodern precursors to the modern discipline of comparative law? • How is
the bifurcation between secular law and religious law implicated in
coloniality? • How do neo-colonial relationships of power continue to shape
conventional comparative law? • How can indigenous and native legal traditions
transform the conventional discipline of comparative law? • How can a decolonial
comparative law be theorized and practiced? • What are the decolonial
alternatives to the use of the modern nation-state as the key analytical
category of comparison in conventional comparative law?
Attendance in the workshop is
open. We ask those interested in attending to register as engaged listeners by
emailing decolonial@mpipriv.de with “Decolonial comparative law, engaged
listener registration” in the subject line. Please indicate your full name,
your institutional affiliation (if any), and your preferred email address.
(Engaged listeners are asked to attend the entire workshop and read all the
papers in advance.)
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: Please send
your title and abstract in any language of no more than 750 words (including a
bibliography of up to five entries) to decolonial@mpipriv.de as an attachment
by 6 February 2020. Authors of accepted papers will be asked to submit a draft
paper by 20 August 2020. Please indicate if you will need funding in order to
attend the workshop. (MPI will provide two-nights of accommodation for
participants; some needs-based reimbursement for travel will also be
available.)
ORGANIZERS: The Decolonial
Comparative Law Workshop is co-organized by Tshepo Madlingozi
(tshepo.madlingozi@wits.ac.za), Ralf Michaels (michaels@mpipriv.de), Lena
Salaymeh (salaymeh@mpipriv.de), and Emile Zitzke (emile.zitzke@wits.ac.za).
ABOUT the University of the Witwatersrand School of Law : Wits School of Law is
based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Alongside equipping students with critical
thinking skills across our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching offerings,
we host three Centres – the Wits Law Clinic, the Mandela Institute and the
Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS). Our centres help us to produce locally
significant and globally important interventions, research and advice. We are
based at Wits University’s Faculty of Commerce Law and Management on West
Campus. Our roots go back to 1922 when our initial offering was the Law
Certificate for attorneys and the Civil Service Lower Law Examination. As we
approach 100 years of existence our modern day offering is vast. We teach a
variety of undergraduate programmes, specialised master’s degrees, PhD
programmes and international exchanges.
ABOUT the Max Planck Institute
for Comparative and International Private Law: The MPI in Hamburg is dedicated
to performing foundational research and promoting the transfer of knowledge in
the field of comparative law. The results of the Institute’s research are
reflected in academic publications as well as in the recommendations and expert
opinion papers prepared for commissions, governments and courts. Additionally,
the scholars employed at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Law regularly
play a role in the formulation of laws at both the national and international
level. MPI is committed to international partnerships and the establishment of
academic networks with domestic and foreign research institutes and
universities in order to foster new directions in scholarly inquiry.
More info with the Max
Planck Institute
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