Globalizing Justice: Critical Perspectives on Transnational Law and the Cross-Border Migration of Legal Norms

Preface and Acknowledgments

Preface and Acknowledgments Globalization is a far-reaching, multifaceted phenomenon whose consequences on law are just beginning to be studied and understood more fully. The fourteen original studies collected here build on Mary Volcansek and John Stack’s edited volume Courts Crossing Borders: Blurring the Lines of Sovereignty (2005), one of the first works by social scientists on the transnational influences on domestic law and courts in the United States and abroad. They are the result of works first presented by scholars at the 20th World Congress of the International Political Science Association (Fukuoka, Japan), the annual meetings of the Research Committee on Comparative Judicial Studies (Naples, Italy; Tempe, Arizona; and Melbourne, Australia), and the American Political Science Association (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Together these new works make an important contribution to the literature by assessing the scope and impact of the cross-border migration of legal ideas and norms on the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, and countries in Central America and Europe. While not ignoring the legitimate concerns of those who fear some aspects of globalization, especially the blurring of the lines of state sovereignty, increasing criticism of global governance and the so-called democratic deficit, and the growing divide between rich and poor nations of the world, the works collected here demonstrate the powerful and often positive impact transnational forces can have on domestic law and the work of national courts.This edited volume documents how various aspects of legal globalization today, including the transnational spread of constitutional and human rights norms, the rise of universal criminal jurisdiction, and the role of both international nongovernmental organizations and domestic human rights commissions, have advanced freedom, rule of law, and democracy around the globe. We would like to thank several individuals without whom this volume would not have come together. First, thanks to William Crotty, the Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Public Life at Northeastern University and series editor, for his support of this project from the beginning. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Elisabetta de Franciscis of the University of Naples, Doris Marie Provine of Arizona State University, and Brian Galligan of the University of Melbourne, who graciously hosted the meetings of the Research Committee on Comparative Judicial Studies, where the xi xii CONTENTS issues of transnational law and the global spread of human rights norms were raised and debated. And special thanks to Sarah DeCapua, who edited all the manuscripts into their present form, and to Joan McEvoy, who carefully prepared the manuscript for publication. We are very grateful for their devoted assistance to this project. Editors Donald W. Jackson, Texas Christian University Michael C. Tolley, Northeastern University Mary L.Volcansek, Texas Christian University ...