About the author

Günter Frankenberg is a Senior Professor emeritus of Public Law, Philosophy of Law, and Comparative Law at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, where he was based at the Institute for Public Law. He has authored several notable works, including:

• "Legal Transfer" in the Oxford Handbook of Law and Anthropology (2022)
• "Authoritarianism - Constitutional Perspectives" (E. Elgar, 2020)
• "Authoritarian Constitutionalism: Comparative Analysis and Critique" (co-edited with Helena Alviar, E. Elgar, 2019)
• "Comparative Constitutional Studies - Between Magic and Deceit" (E. Elgar, 2018)
• "Political Technology and the Erosion of the Rule of Law. Normalizing the State of Exception" (E. Elgar, 2014)
• "Comparative Law as Critique" (E. Elgar, 2016)
• "Critical Comparisons: Re-Thinking Comparative Law" (Harvard International Law Journal, 1985)

He has held visiting professorships at various prestigious institutions, including Harvard Law School, the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, the Law School of Phnom Penh, Tulane Law School, and the École de Droit Sciences Po in Paris. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Institute for Global Law and Politics at Harvard Law School.

Abstract

In the lecture, Günter will briefly present the basic idea and design of "Comparative Law: Introduction to a Critical Practice," a book co-authored with Fernanda G. Nicola (who may attend online). The book aims to provide a practical introductory guide to comparative law, covering its theory, methods, and the major doctrinal fields where legal comparison is applied. The authors examine both conventional and critical approaches to legal comparison, while also exploring its ethical and political ramifications. The practical focus of the book includes real-world issues, such as indigenous property claims, same-sex marriage, and COVID-19 measures, and how these are addressed in comparative law by both mainstream and unorthodox approaches. The book is positioned as an essential resource for teachers and students of comparative law and legal anthropology, and may also appeal to political scientists and journalists interested in international legal regimes, their problems, and potential solutions

Registration

The lecture will exceptionally be held in the Moot Court (A3.15) and online via zoom. To register online, please click on the button below.