Journal of the Charles University Law Faculty
Pavla Špondr Večl and Kristýna Abel Benešová
Author’s affiliation:
Attorneys at Law
The Chimera of Objectivity in Legal Research and Back to Asking 'Why?', 'What?' and 'How?
Jurisprudence 4-5/2025 Section: Articles Page: 41-47
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71372/ZXTV7736
Keywords: Legal research, legal methodology, objectivity, positionality, feminist critique
Abstract: The authors, lawyers and feminists, approach law critically as a tool that not only reflects power relations and social inequalities but can also contribute to their redress. Building on the collective monographs Mužské právo I and II, they address the question of whether legal rules and legal scholarship can be considered neutral and objective. They argue that the traditional division of legal research into doctrinal, empirical, and normative categories is no longer adequate, as it obscures the fact that every research project is shaped by the researcher’s values and positionality. Instead of the problematic criterion of objectivity, the article proposes transparency, particularly with respect to method and positionality, as a more meaningful standard. The contribution seeks to shift legal scholarship towards stronger grounding in social science methodologies and towards openly acknowledging that legal knowledge is always socially situated.
