The Journal of Comparative Law

The Journal of Comparative Law (the JCL) is a scholarly resource for comparative legal studies in a broad sense of that term. It publishes material on all aspects of the field, in all types of legal traditions and in all geographical areas, be it theoretical, historical, modern, general, regional, or country-specific.

Analytical, rather than purely descriptive, work is encouraged. Contextual, theoretical, and interdisciplinary approaches are particularly welcome, as are analyses of the practical aspects of comparative legal studies in a globalized world.

 The JCL publishes a wide range of material. In addition to articles, notes, review articles, and book reviews, it also contains reports of cases, case-notes assessments, translations of documents (particularly those difficult to access and those in non-Western languages, or languages with relatively few speakers), annotated bibliographies and notes on recent material of interest.

The JCL is peer reviewed. It is published twice a year, in March and September.

SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES

Submissions may be made by hard copy submitted through a courier or postal service or by e-mail attachment (mp@soas.ac.uk) in Microsoft Word. These are subject to peer review; responses of acceptance or otherwise will be made as promptly as possible.

Click Here for Submission Style Guide

CORRESPONDENCE

Correspondence should be sent to one or both of the editors, William E. Butler at web15@psu.edu, Michael Palmer at mp@soas.ac.uk.

FOUNDERS

William E. Butler, Penn State Dickinson Law; University College, University of London (UCL) (Emeritus)

Nicholas H.D. Foster, formerly SOAS, University of London

Michael Palmer, SOAS, University of London (Emeritus); Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Cheng Yu Tung Visiting Professor of Law, University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong

HONORARY ADVISORS

William Twining, University College, University of London (UCL) (Emeritus)

Philip Wood, CBE, QC

EDITORS

William E. Butler, Penn State Dickinson Law; University College, University of London (UCL) (Emeritus)

Michael Palmer, SOAS, University of London (Emeritus); Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Cheng Yu Tung Visiting Professor of Law, University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong

EDITORIAL BOARD

William E. Butler, Penn State Dickinson Law; University College, University of London (UCL) (Emeritus)

Michele Graziadei, Università di Torino

Oleksiy Kresin, V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law, National Academy of Science of Ukraine

Maria Federica Moscati, University of Sussex

Michael Palmer, SOAS, University of London (Emeritus); Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Cheng Yu Tung Visiting Professor of Law, University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong

EDITORIAL COUNCIL

William Alford, Harvard University

Abdullahi An-Na’im, Emory University

Stathis Banakas, University of East Anglia

John Bell, University of Cambridge (Emeritus)

Albert Chen, University of Hong Kong

Donald Clarke, George Washington University

Alison Conner, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (Emerita)

Roger Cotterrell, Queen Mary University of London

Aleksei Egorov, Vitebsk State University

William Ewald, University of Pennsylvania

Fu Hualing, University of Hong Kong

Tania Groppi, Università degli Studi de Siena

Wael Hallaq, Columbia University

Jaakko Husa, Helsinki University

Evhen Kharytonov, National University “Odessa Law Academy”

Pierre Legrand, L’Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Peter Leyland, London Metropolitan University (Emeritus)

Dmytryi Lukianov, National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine

David Nelken, Università degli Studi di Macerata; University of Cardiff; King’s College London

Akmal Saidov, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan

Geoffrey Samuel, University of Kent

Martin Shapiro, University of California Berkeley

Ann Stewart, University of Warwick

Brian Tamanaha, Washington University in St. Louis

Oleksandr Tykhomyrov, National Academy of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

Chao Xi, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Maria Zakharova, Kutafin Moscow State Legal Academy

FORMER EDITORS

Nicholas H.D. Foster, formerly SOAS University of London, editor 2006–2007

Camilla Baasch Andersen, University of Western Australia, editor 2006–2007

CLICK BELOW TO ORDER:

Institutional:

USA Print and Electronic $250

International Print and Electronic $350

Electronic Only $200

Individual:

USA Print and Electronic $200

International Print and Electronic $250

Electronic Only $150

The digital edition of The Journal of Comparative Law is hosted by HeinOnline, a product of William S. Hein & Co.

Past print issues available $200 per volume, $100 per issue. 

CONTENTS

VOLUME XX, ISSUE 2 (2025)

Contributors

Articles
Comparative Law’s Shallows and Hollows: A Negative Critique on Ablepsy
Pierre Legrand 

A New Understanding of Comparative Methodology—an Exploration of the Intermediary Jurisprudence of Comparative Legal Studies
Mohammad Rasmi Al-Umari
Camilla B Andersen
Jeanette H Jensen

Why I Became a Comparative Lawyer: Autobiographical Essays Part Two
Organized and Edited by William E. Butler

Introduction
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im
Camilla Baasch Andersen
Mauro Bussani
Alison W. Conner
Mehman A. Damirli
Michele Graziadei
Jaakko Husa
Maria Federica Moscati
Annelise Riles

SPECIAL PART I
Wings of Change: A Comparative Analysis of Animal Law
Edited by Shreya Padukone and Vivek Mukherjee

Acknowledgments

Introduction
Vivek Mukherjee
Shreya Padukone

Democratic Ambivalence: Affection and Alienation Dilemma and Non-Human Animal Persons Rights
Upendra Baxi 

Recognising the Ecological Impact of Wildlife Crimes in China Through Public Interest Litigation
Amanda Whitfort
Ziying Liang

Constitutional Pathways to the Progressive Realisation of Animal Rights: A Comparative Study
Marina Baptista-Rosa 

Majestic yet Bound: Revisiting the South Asian Elephant Tragedy after Bangladesh’s Wake-up Call
Dulki Seethawaka 

Culture in Conflict: Balancing Tradition and Animal Rights
Suman Jain

SPECIAL PART II
Administrative Justice in China, Part III: Institutional Conflicts and Governance Transformation (continued)
Edited by Michael Palmer, Ling Zhou and Lin Yang

Introduction, Part Three
Michael Palmer
Ling ZHOU
LIN Yang

The Sword of Damocles: Enterprises’ Strategies Under Campaign-Style Enforcement
Jingwen CAI
Carlos Wing-Hung LO
Ning LIU

The Authority Deficit: How does China’s Pharmaceutical Administration Work?
SONG Yuechan

Cross-border data Governance in the Greater Bay Area: Towards Integration and Administrative Justice in a Fragmented Landscape
Yang LIN

Police Powers to Punish Law-and-Order Violations: Controversies and Recurring Issues
Mei Ning YAN

A Comparative Study of Administrative Enforcement of Copyright Protection in China and Europe
Faye Fangfei WANG

The Role of Party Committees in SOEs and Stakeholder Representation in China
Say Hak GOO

Administrative Justice and the Transformation of China’s Population Policies
Michael Palmer

Review
Rules that Rule: Why Constitutional Amendment Procedures Matter (Tsebelis, George. Changing the Rules: Constitutional Amendments in Democracies)
Michael Palmer

Index
Index, Journal of Comparative Law, Volumes 1 (2006) – 20 (2025), Index of Authors; Index of Books and Articles Reviewed (PDF, 736 KB)
William E. Butler