Socio-legal studies: A challenge to the doctrinal approach
Authors: Cownie, F., Bradney, A.
Publication Date: 01/01/2026
Pages: 39-62
DOI: 10.4324/9781032710372-3
Abstract:This chapter considers socio-legal approaches, which emerged in the last quarter of the twentieth century to challenge the traditional doctrinal approach to researching law and legal decision-making. Whilst the definition of ‘socio-legal’ is contentious, it is argued here that it covers a variety of approaches which draw on other disciplines to analyse law and legal phenomena that include, but are not confined to, empirical research methods. Socio-legal research allows for the use of non-traditional materials and creative research methods to throw light on traditional ‘legal’ questions. Whilst socio-legal scholarship is now firmly established in academia, it is also often of interest to policymakers, who may take a keen interest in findings that can provide ‘evidence-based’ insights. In this chapter, socio-legal research on lay tribunal members is considered as an example of how such research has relevance for academic and non-academic audiences.
Source: Scopus