Comparative Reasoning in Legal Adjudication

The practice of making reference to foreign law by courts is one of the most widely discussed topics in contemporary legal scholarship. Although justifying a legal decision via a comparison between domestic law and foreign law has become a worldwide phenomenon, this practice continues to give rise to a number of related issues: The legitimacy of using foreign legal materials by domestic courts, the alleged de facto authority acquired by foreign law and its consequence on the structure of domestic legal orders, and the political significance of comparative reasoning with regard to the function of courts in the global scenario.