Legal Complexity and Justice

While law has long served as a key mechanism for mediating human relations and arbitrating conflicting interests, the increasing complexity of our globalized world challenges existing legal frameworks both within nations and on the global stage. Many conflicts involve multiple legal orders and thus cannot be resolved without an in-depth understanding of socio-legal realities and consideration of a variety of binding legal instruments. Traditional legal training often does not adequately prepare lawyers to navigate the complexities of global multiplicity and its situational manifestations. To address these issues effectively, we need a contextual approach, one that treats empirical complexity not just as an ancillary issue but rather as the basis for finding legal solutions and developing a better understanding of how the law operates in practice.

Our research operates at the intersection of anthropology and law, applying anthropological methods and perspectives in the analysis of case studies and legal practices in order to understand what they can tell us about the processes and strategies for pursuing justice. By studying law in context, we gain insights into how people deal with complexity and arbitrate conflicts. Simultaneously, we pay attention to the critical role of law as an institution that provides powerful instruments to address significant concerns and establish normative frameworks. An important aspect of our research is the communication of findings beyond academia to legal practitioners and policymakers. Potential research areas include legal accountability for irreversible environmental damage, the normative impacts of cross-border mobility, protection of the rights of vulnerable individuals, arbitrating claims to scarce resources, and how digitalization and AI affect legal thinking. Addressing these issues requires considering multiple perspectives and mediating between different norms and interests, acknowledging that effective solutions to complex challenges may require drawing on additional approaches alongside legal doctrine.