Research
The Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) studies the effects of globalisation for national legal systems. One of these effects is the decreasing autonomy of national legal systems. The problems confronting them increasingly transcend national boundaries, either because the problems do not lend themselves to solely national regulation or because they involve the interests of the international community as a whole. In this new environment the traditional areas of national law, that is, private law, criminal law, administrative law and constitutional law, acquire an increasingly internationalised character.
This development has fundamental consequences for the process of national lawmaking, and the interpretation, implementation and enforcement of national law. They also bring to the forefront important questions relating to the legitimacy and coherence of law in general. By examining these developments in a comprehensive manner, from a multi-disciplinary perspective, including legal science, law and economics, behavioural and sociological perspectives, the Institute hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the functioning of national legal systems in an emerging international legal and social setting.
