On Experiments in Empirical Legal Research

Empirical research on law and society.Advanced Introduction to Empirical Legal Research, HERBERT M.KRITZER, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2021, 168 pp., £16.45Research Handbook on the Sociology of Law, EDITED BY JIŘÍPŘIBÁŇ, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2020, 416 pp., £185.00The Routledge Handbook of Law and Society, EDITED BY MARIANAVALVERDE, KAMARI M.CLARKE, EVE DARIANSMITH, PRABHAKOTISWARAN, London: Routledge, 2021, 274 pp., £152.00

“…16 Some empirical legal studies use field experiments, which combine causal control with a focus on real-world settings. 17 Empirical legal research can also use other kinds of methods, such as quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews (with individual participants or with focus groups), observations, and archival and case file analyses.…”

Time and Law in the Post-COVID-19 Era: The Usefulness of Experimental Law

“…We know from French scholars that in the last thirty years, the law has become more devoted to governing the present; conversely, evaluation and experimentation techniques dominate the process of law-making (Chevallier, 1996;Crouzatier-Durand, 2003). The evaluative approach is characterized by introducing permanent correction and adjustment devices of legislation based on experience and observation (Mamontoff, 1998;Van den Bos & Hulst, 2016).…”

Theoretical and Normative Frameworks for Legal Research: Putting Theory into Practice

“…Under the broad rubric of normative questions we usually group evaluative questions, assessing the positive or 5 However, empirical legal research is becoming more popular rapidly and is also the subject of methodological work. See, for example, the articles in Law and Method by Van den Bos & Hulst 2016, Dhami & Belton 2016, Melville & Hincks 2016, and Webley 2016 negative quality of law, and prescriptive questions, determining what should be done to improve the situation. 6 These often go together: a judgment that the law is faulty often leads up to a recommendation that the law needs to be improved to correct that fault, but this combination is not necessary.…”