Theory in Comparative Law Scholarship

Abstract The main focus of this paper is the meaning of the term “theory” in comparative law. It examines the comparative law theory literature and conducts an in-depth analysis of a sample of articles from two journals ( ajcl and ejclg ). Theory is considered very important in legal scholarship. ajcl articles are usually more “theory-thick” than their European counterparts. Nevertheless, the majority of European literature also places a strong emphasis on theory-related language. Yet, it is often unclear why authors used these words or what they contributed to the paragraph, section, or research objective. None of the articles reviewed discussed or acknowledged the polysemous nature of theory. This lack of clarity and transparency may hinder the progress of comparative law scholarship.