29 Apr Internal workshop on legal research methods
On 18 and 19 of March, the DELaw team hosted an internal workshop in Cáceres on Legal Research Methods. Over the course of two days, we had the pleasure of welcoming a distinguished panel of scholars: Louis Kotzé and Ruven Fleming in person, as well as Julia Steinberger and Sanne Taekema online.
The workshop opened with a presentation by the DELaw team, outlining the project’s aims, current progress, and the key questions and challenges we have encountered in drafting our first collaborative article. Afterwards, Julia Steinberg led a session on degrowth studies and principles, focusing on how these can be translated into concrete policy proposals. The morning concluded with a presentation by Louis Kotzé, who shared insights from his experience working on research projects that adopt critical legal perspectives, particularly when engaging with broad and evolving conceptual frameworks.
In the afternoon, as a means to integrate degrowth-in-practice, participants visited ACTYVA, a Cáceres-based degrowth-oriented cooperative active in many different fields, including organic food production and catering. The visit included a tour of their farms and an outdoor lunch prepared with locally sourced vegan products.
The second day focused on legal methodology. Ruven Fleming opened with a session on doctrinal and constitutional energy law methods, addressing both conceptual and practical challenges. The workshop concluded with a session led by Sanne Taekema, who offered valuable guidance on how to conduct comparative legal research.
This workshop constituted one of the main early milestones of the DELaw project. It provided an opportunity to receive critical comments on our work while benefiting from high-level training. We are grateful to all participants and speakers for their contributions to making this workshop such a success!
