This paper uses Teubner’s reinterpretation of Ehrlich’s idea of ‘living law’ in his paper on ‘Global Bukowina’ as a test case of what is involved in making a classical author speak to current issues. It argues that interpretation is a form of appropriation and that the process of re-contextualising ideas involves an unstable compromise between establishing what an author meant and what an author means.

Chinese courts’ recent refusal to take on some disputes raises questions on the extent to which they are controlled by superior political powers in their region. Through a close examination of the handling process of ‘Married Out Women’ disputes, this article shows that lower courts in Guangdong Province, China, have effectively resisted pressure to solve the disputes. Arguing legal barriers and enforcement difficulties, the courts ultimately referred the disputes to the governments but agreed to review the governments’ decisions in administrative litigation. In so doing, the courts retain an advantageous position in the power relationship with the governments. The article argues that Chinese courts are capable of deliberating about and transforming their situation by strategically interpreting the law and negotiating with superior powers. It suggests that judicial independence in China is far more complicated than is often recognised, and that judicial behaviour cannot be adequately explained without thick descriptions and understanding of the legal arguments, resource constraints and strategic interpretations open to the courts, in context.

Since the mid-1990s there has been intense activity in terms of anti-corruption initiatives. Section 1 of this paper (Regulatory measures: the conventions) focuses on the frameworks of these conventions and in the course of their assessment argues (a) that the lack of a unified approach is unlikely to further the fight against corruption in any meaningful way, (b) that regulation is unlikely to be effective in terms of results unless there are robust enforcement mechanisms in place, and (c) that anti-corruption legislation provides only a partial answer and that we need to engage in what I call a process of re-socialisation. Section 2 (Enforcement and informers) highlights the difficulties associated with enforcing the conventions and explores whether the antiquated qui tam action might serve a useful purpose in addressing the problem of enforcement deficit. Section 3 (Fighting corruption through re-socialisation) asks whether greater social awareness through education provides a possible solution. Guided by a humanistic philosophy of society the view is put forward that part of the answer for effectively tackling corruption lies in making people aware of its long-term effects.

This paper seeks to explore the relationship between law and morality and its relevance for establishing the legitimacy of international criminal justice (ICJ) within the context of international trials. At present, imperatives for peace and reconstruction in conflict societies are divorced both conceptually and practically from the process of punishment in international criminal trials. It argues that, in order for international trial justice to move beyond partial forms of retributivism requires a profound re-alignment of the rationales underpinning international penality and a merging of retributive and restorative justice forms. The paper suggests that the resolution of ‘truth’ must go further than this by implicating penal law and process as crucial determinants of ‘legitimate’ strategies for intervention, thereby enabling a wider choice of consequent resolutions. The paper suggests that the intrinsic value of international criminal process lies in its capacity to confront the relativism of ICJ by providing the means to engage with its plurality and so increase its legitimacy for all victims and communities affected by social conflict and war. In so doing it considers how law may be transformed into normative guides to conduct and examines the relationship between the processes of legal reasoning and sentence decision-making in international criminal trials.