Journal of the Charles University Law Faculty
Michal Bobek
Author’s affiliation:
The Supreme Administrative Court
That (Legal) Science, Again! Meditations Not Only about Bears
Jurisprudence 4-5/2025 Section: Articles Page: 34-40
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71372/FAUR3700
Keywords: Science; legal science; legal research; dogmatic approach; doctrinal approach; empirical legal studies; normative approaches; bears
Abstract: What defines legal science as science? This contribution ponders on the themes and discussions articulated at the Brno Conference that gave rise to this special issue. The take on what constitutes legal science advocated for here remains liberal: doctrinal, empirical, as well as reasonably critical and substantiated, i.e. not purely ideological, normative critique of the law might all fit that bill. Having outlined the strength and weaknesses of each approach to legal research, this contribution places the dispute that erupted at the Brno Conference between doctrinal and empirical approaches to legal research into a broader, international context. It concludes with the suggestion that the real nature of that dispute is not methodological or ideological, but primarily economic, stemming from the way research grants are selected and public money for research in law is distributed in the Czech Republic.
