Regresar

SOCIAL POLICY AND EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN LAW

Abstract:

In the field of law, empirical research involves the study of the institutions, rules, procedures and personnel of law, using direct methods rather than secondary sources, in order to understand how they function and what effects they have. Its depth and intellectual importance are not determined by the empirical label, and can only be judged by reference to the same stan-dards and criteria that would apply to any other scholarly activity. This paper examines the contribution to legal studies that empirical research strategies have made and continue to make, through an analysis of their evolution, research methods, their relationship to theory, and their influence on law and social policy. The research concludes that the best empirical work aims at a fundamental reassessment of the functioning of a given area, to help understand the functioning of law, including its contribution to addressing social problems and its impact on the citizen. To some extent, it may participate in the social policy agenda of the government of the day, but it will not be defined by it.