Law and Culture

Mateusz Stępień is Professor of Sociology of Law in the Faculty on Law and Administration at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. His research interests focus on exploring the cultural dimension of law. He published papers on Chinese constitutionalism, Confucianism, images in judicial opinions, representative bureaucracy. He is currently working on the subject of judicial empathy and legal placebo. Jan Bazyli Klakla is a graduate of law, sociology and comparative culture studies at the Jagiellonian University and postgraduate studies in international migrations at the University of Warsaw. He is preparing two doctoral dissertations - in law at the Department of Sociology of Law of the Jagiellonian University and in sociology at the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University.

• Part I – Law and Culture Theorizations: Introduction. Drawing On the Legacy of Founding Fathers by Mateusz Stępień, Jan Bazyli Klakla.- Exploring New Avenues for Studying the Legal Culture: Drawing on Homi Bhabha’s Theorization of “culture” by Mateusz Stępień.- Customary Law is Like an Onion: A Multilayered Approach to Customary Law and Its Status in the Contemporary World by Jan Bazyli Klakla.- Part II – Law, Custom and Culture: Indian “Love Jihad” Goes to Court by Anna Drwal.- Palestinian Culture Through a Legal Lens: A Case Study of Customary Legal Proceedings After a Homicide in Hebron by Ewa Górska.- ‘In This Case, Can There Be No Talk About Such a Justification Through Circumstances?’ A Case Study of the Invocation of Cultural Defence Outside the Common Law by Joanna Ptak-Chmiel.- Part III – Law and Cultural Production: Copyright and Culture: The Case of Poland by Ewa Radomska.- The Procedural Justice in South Korean Popular Culture. An Analysis of Court Hearings Using the Example of the K-Drama Your Honor by Katarzyna Rużyczka.- Does Visual Culture Pose a Threat to Law? by Magdalena Wojdala.

“Stępień and Klakla … have published an edited volume on the topic of ‘law and culture’. They offer original re-conceptualizations of legal culture and customary law, as well as case studies, strongly supported by empirical methods, on the relationships between law and culture. … One of the strengths of the book is that it includes a variety of cases from different countries, cultures, traditions and legal systems. … This variety enriches the topics and increases the value of the book.” (Rafif Zarea, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, Vol. 35, 2022)