The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
CSLS is dedicated to developing socio-legal studies by carrying out cutting-edge research and supporting policy developments, educating graduate students, and supporting the career development of postdoctoral researchers.
Welcome to the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
For fifty years the Oxford Centre has been at the forefront of research into the nature and role of law in society. Our researchers study law as a historical and culturally specific mode of social organisation that takes a variety of forms within and across societies. Our expert staff bring together a wide variety of disciplinary expertise including law, sociology, anthropology, politics, international relations, human rights, economics, geography and art history to examine the interface of law and society.
Our Values
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Blog: Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies
In this week’s Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies, Professor Desmond Manderson (ANU) reflects upon the constitutional significance of the forthcoming Australian referendum on the Voice to Parliament.
Dr Florian Grisel reviews Tommaso Pavone's book, The Ghostwriters: Lawyers and the Politics behind the Judicial Construction of Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
Professor Linda Mulcahy goes back to basics and chats to listeners about designing a Socio-Legal research project and choosing between qualitative and quantitative methodologies and methods.
Our Graduate Students
Doing fieldwork on (nearly) your home turf has its advantages, however. Sometimes the things we're most familiar with are those we most take for granted, and the way law and policy are made in the UK is a good example. I had an opportunity to get behind the legislation and the headlines and find out what has driven changing ideas about human trafficking in the UK over the past fifteen years - Owain Johnstone
