What can we learn from the simultaneous existence and interaction of different legal systems? How does legal pluralism tie into questions of power and conflict resolution? The Commission on Legal Pluralism is an expert organization consisting of more than 350 lawyers, anthropologists and other social scientists dedicated to the study of topical questions in the field.
"The Commission on Legal Pluralism furthers knowledge and understanding of legal pluralism, with a focus upon theoretical and practical problems resulting from the interaction of different types of law, such as state law, international and transnational law, religious law, and customary law. It provides a meeting ground for the concerns of social and legal sciences in the study of law in society and the resulting power relations, and in the resolution of social problems."
(excerpt from the Commission's website)
New perspectives for legal research
Reetta Toivanen was elected on the Executive Body of the Commission on Legal Pluralism in the last Conference of the Commission in Jakarta, Indonesia in January 2025.
“It is truly exciting to join the executive bodies of the Commission on Legal Pluralism to advance the research on legal pluralism. Legal and normative pluralism exists in all societies, including Finland, and it is inspiring to bring more research on the topic to the University of Helsinki”, says Reetta Toivanen.
Toivanen is Professor of Sustainability Science at the Helsinki University Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) and director of EuroStorie’s subproject 3: Migration and the narratives of Europe as an “Area of freedom, security and justice”. She is a scholar of anthropology and law involved in research projects addressing power and inequality, culture and identity and Arctic studies.
Legal pluralism is an emerging field of study at the University of Helsinki. We asked Reetta what she is looking forward to in her task and why the Commission’s work is important.
“Here in Helsinki, we currently have relatively little teaching and research on the overlaps between legal systems and the hierarchies between them. Hopefully, through this role, I can inspire anthropologists, legal scholars, and students from other humanities disciplines to engage with the field”, Reetta anticipates.
“Here in Helsinki, we currently have relatively little teaching and research on the overlaps between legal systems and the hierarchies between them. Hopefully, through this role, I can inspire anthropologists, legal scholars, and students from other humanities disciplines to engage with the field”
Get involved
The Commission on Legal Pluralism offers many possibilities for legal scholars, including international symposia, courses and workshops. The Commission also publishes a journal dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of legal pluralism, Legal Pluralism and Critical Social Analysis.
Executive body for the 2025-2027 term:
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Christa Rautenbach (President), North-West University, South Africa
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Waheeda Amien, University of Cape Town, South Africa
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Sophie Andreetta, Université de Liège, Belgium
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Kalindi Kokal, Independent Scholar
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Rebecca Monson, Australian National University
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Reetta Toivanen, University of Helsinki, Finland
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Bertram Turner, Max Planck Institute Social Anthropology (Halle), Germany
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Larissa Vetters, Max Planck Institute Social Anthropology (Halle), Germany
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Markus Weilenmann, Office for Conflict Research in Developing Countries, Switzerland