The Gender of Constitutional Jurisprudence

Extract

The Gender of Constitutional Jurisprudence. Edited by Beverley Baines and Ruth Rubio-Marin. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 356p. $75.00 cloth, $34.99 paper.

Comparative law remains a small and relatively isolated area of inquiry. There are two barriers to development of the field. First, with the exception of taxation law and, possibly, divorce, comparative analysis of law is of little use to practicing lawyers. Second, as I discovered in a project on comparative rape law, it is difficult to gain access to the primary data sources, especially outside North America and Western Europe. In addition, there are few opportunities for interdisciplinary study—despite the attention of the Law and Society Association. Those who are not legal scholars need guides to the technical aspects of legal research to make the work of specialists more accessible.