Comparative study

Legal Comparative study

How to do or establish comparative studies, regarding law rules and Articles?
What you need? How to start? And how to finish the comparative study?

One of the questions that I received lately was how to compare between law Articles and rules? Therefore, I think it’s better to answer such question in a post that others might find it useful and helpful

In order to make your study ( comparative ) easy and clear, it’s recommended to consider the following tips:

1.      Identify your aims in advance

2.      Collect the related laws

3.      Specify your draft outcomes (what you think or expect from your study, as a draft)

4.      Highlight your main titles (these titles can be changed whilst your study so do not worry)

5.      Set a first draft analysis before your comparative study (this tool will help you to understand what kind of method and topic you are dealing with)

6.      Make a flexible structure to your comparative method

7.      Use legal research method instead of qualitative or quantitative research methods (in order to assure that your study is framed in a legal method)

Now to the main part that any comparative study based on, which is the purpose of the comparative. In order to set a high or a valuable academic study you need to establish or base on legal ground which you want to prove it whether it’s right or wrong, or whether it needs more work or for any other reason you need to highlight or identify; these reasons are the purposes of your comparative study/ studies. Therefore, make sure that such purpose is legally set and clearly understandable

After clarifying the purpose of your study you need to work in accordance of the structure that you have set previously (draft structure) in order to build the body of your comparative. Within this process you need to highlight the main topics or points that the study base on. Although, you need to re-write the outcomes of the analysis study you made previously, in order to present why, how, when and what this study (regarding the comparative between the chosen laws) is about and where it goes
Finally, end your study with the conclusion which should contain the findings of that study and the recommendations (your view and believes)

In order to make it easy for you see this brief example:

Let’s say that I want to compare between two laws regarding the definition of specific term or transaction:

1.      First of all, I will specify the related Articles, (for example Article 1 of the law X, with Article 2 of the law Y)

2.      Then I will read them carefully and analyse them in accordance to their content

3.      According to the analysis I made I will set my draft structure that the comparative shall base on between the X and Y laws

4.      Also, according to the analysis I’ll identify the main titles or topics of my study (X1, X2... Y1, Y2)

5.      After doing so, I’ll start my comparative by writing a brief introduction explains the cause, aim, method... etc of the study

6.      Then I’ll start working on the content of the comparative (by saying Article 1 of the X law said ... while Article 2 of the Y law said ... etc)

7.      During the previous process, I’ll be able to highlight the differences and conflicts between the content of the selected laws, which I’ll be able to use them later in the conclusion

8.      Finally, I’m ready to write the conclusion basing on the study titles and contents, and more importantly basing on the highlighted points that I made during my study. In which I can use in my findings and recommendations at the end of my comparative study

Note: this method can also be applied in any comparative study not only in comparative studies between law Articles or rules

I hope you find this post useful and helpful. And I’m looking forward to read your suggestions and additions regarding how we can improve our skills in such field?

Mohammad Al-Thunibat
“E-Commerce Lawyer”