This book presents a critical rethinking of the study of comparative law and
legal theory in a globalising world and proposes a new model. It highlights
the inadequacies of currentWestern theoretical approaches in comparative
law, international law, legal theory and jurisprudence, especially for studying
Asian and African laws, arguing that they are too parochial and eurocentric
to meet global challenges. Menski argues for combining modern
natural law theories with positivist and socio-legal traditions, building an
interactive, triangular concept of legal pluralism. Advocated as the fourth
major approach to legal theory, this model is applied in analysing the historical
and conceptual development of Hindu law, Muslim law, African
laws and Chinese law.
Werner Menski is Professor of South Asian Laws at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where he is also Chair
of the Centre for Ethnic Minority Studies. He has published widely in the
area of South Asian Law. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Pakistan
College of Law, Lahore, the South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg,
the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and at ILS Law College, Pune,
India.