Forces for Development
The legal case studies look at how the law itself has changed, and have highlighted some of the factors which have contributed to this. This section looks at legal development from the opposite angle: from three types of forces for development. The purpose is to trace how these diverse aspects, many non-legal, have affected the development of the law. Of course, this is a second stage of research, after having first found out how the law developed at all.
Institutions and Professions
The arrangement of personnel and resources of the law can have a large impact on its development. The many entities concerned with law reform and analysis have been focal points in legal argumentation and change. Equally, the functioning of every legal system is centred on the people administering it, i.e. the professions within the law.
Social and Philosophical Ideas
Law is one among many social sciences and humanities but what is the connection between them? In particular, law’s own internal conception of itself, as well as the role of law within sociology, anthropology and philosophy are all valuable in understanding legal change.
The Influence of the Economy
The economic impact of a legal rule is potentially one of its most quantifiable characteristics, but the converse is not always true. Knowing how the law has altered under the influence of the economy would be incredibly valuable information. The kinds of factors that are at work here are insurance, capital markets, the nature of defendants, corporations and the value of money in the legal process.
