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West European countries or the Law and could focus on the discrepancy between anti-
Society scholarship in the US, which foster discrimination legislation and the empirically
much stronger disciplinary ties with the verifiable reality of unlawful discrimination
social sciences. In the past, it has been pre- through a closer scrutiny of the legal instru-
sented as the applied branch of the sociology ments themselves, asking questions concern-
of law and criticized for being empiricist and ing the goals and intentions of the legislation,
atheoretical (Campbell and Wiles, 1976; the substantive provisions constituting that
Travers, 2001). Max Travers, for example, legislation, or its remedial structures
regards Socio-Legal Studies as a subfield (Fredman, 2002: 1–2). According to this
of social policy, ‘mainly concerned with standpoint, whenever a law fails to bring
influencing or serving government policy in about the intended effects, one should start
the provision of legal services’ (Travers, re-evaluating its goals, substantive provisions
2001: 27) and adds that it ‘has given up any and remedial structures. In other words, if a
aspirations it once had to develop general law is ineffective and does not deliver the
theories about the policy process’ (Travers, policy goods, it must be technically flawed.
2001: 26). Thus, a closer examination of, for example,
Looking more closely at the work which who bears, or should bear, the burden of
has been produced by the socio-legal com- proof in discrimination cases or how the law
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munity in more recent years, we detect two distinguishes between direct and indirect
(again ideal typical) general approaches. The discrimination, becomes of paramount
first approach, which I call the studies of importance. From the sociologist’s point of
Law in Context, uses social theory and a view, the difference between studies of Law
broadly conceived notion of what empirical in Context and mainstream legal studies is
research amounts to in order to study issues insignificant, for they seek no generalizable
which are internal to the processes and oper- knowledge about social conditions or rela-
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ations of law. Studies of Law in Context are tions underpinning discrimination or about
neither empiricist nor sociological, yet are how law sees and relates to racial violence or
conducted against the backdrop of social gender discrimination. We find, however, a
theory. According to this approach, the significant difference between Law in
‘socio’ in Socio-Legal Studies does not refer Context and the approach adopted by black
to sociological theory or to an empirical letter scholars who focus on legal doctrine, in
understanding of the broader context of that the former does not treat the law as a
social development, but represents ‘an inter- sealed system of rules and doctrines to
face with a context within which law exists’ be studied on its own terms alone. Unlike
(Wheeler and Thomas, 2002: 271). The doctrinal studies, Law in Context recognizes
second approach is what Travers calls Policy the important role played by, and can seek
Research, and is concerned with social causal analysis of, extra-legal factors and
policy, regulation, enforcement and imple- relations. More importantly, the studies of
mentation issues, i.e., how law affects social Law in Context seek and produce new
behaviour or social conditions. These studies knowledge of law, its limits and potentials.
often draw attention to the gap between the Policy Research can share many of the
intentions of legislatures and the reality of assumptions held by the sociologist about
law once it is interpreted and enforced by law and still take a more pragmatic view
officials. Policy Research is not committed to of the impact of law on social conditions
theory development either, but is more without engaging with the broader social the-
empirically oriented than the studies of Law oretical issues surrounding such impact.
in Context. Furthermore, it sees law more in terms of
Again, using gender or ethnic discrimination legislation, i.e., as a measure aimed at realiz-
as an example, a study of Law in Context ing policy objectives, than as technical or