William Lawrence Twining (born 22 September 1934) is the Emeritus

Quain Professor Quain Professor is the professorship title for certain disciplines at University College London, England. The title honours Richard Quain, who became Professor of Anatomy in 1832 at what would become University College, London. Quain left a legacy ...

of Jurisprudence at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, having held the post until 1996. He is a leading member of the Law in Context movement, and has contributed especially to

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

and proof, legal method,

legal education Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...

, and

intellectual history Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual histor ...

. He has focused recently on "globalization" and legal theory.http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/academics/profiles/twining/ALICANTEINTERVIEW10Jan2010.pdf Raymundo Gama (2010) Interview with William Twining, UCL (Accessed Dec 2010) Central themes of Twining's contributions to legal matters include the variety and complexity of legal phenomena; the proposition that many so-called “global” processes and patterns are sub-global, linked to empires,

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

s, alliances, and legal traditions; that diffusion,

legal pluralism Legal pluralism is the existence of multiple legal systems within one society and/or geographical area. Plural legal systems are particularly prevalent in former colonies, where the law of a former colonial authority may exist alongside more tradi ...

, and surface law are important topics for both analytical and empirical jurisprudence; that, in a world characterized by profound diversity of beliefs and radical poverty, the discipline of law needs to engage with problems of constructing just and workable supra-national institutions and practices; and that adopting a global perspective challenges some of the main working assumptions of Western traditions of academic law. At the start of his career, Twining taught for seven years in Sudan and Tanzania. He has maintained an interest in Eastern Africa, and more broadly the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

. He has studied and taught in several leading UK and American

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

s as well. Twining is currently a visiting faculty member at the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school in ...

. Twining has held chairs in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and Warwick.

Publications

* Twining, William (2009) ''General Jurisprudence: Understanding Law from a Global Perspective'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

* Twining, William (2009) ''Human Rights: Southern Voices'' (ed.) Cambridge University Press * Twining, William (2010) ''How To Do Things With Rules'' (with David Miers, 4th edn., 1999; 5th edn forthcoming 2010) * Twining, William (2009) “Implications of globalisation for law as a discipline” in A.Halpin and V. Roeben (eds.) ''Theorising the Global Order'' * “Social Science and Diffusion of Law” Jo. Law and Society, 32: 203-40 (2005) * “The Hutton Inquiry: Some Wider Legal Aspects” in

W. G. Runciman Walter Garrison Runciman, 3rd Viscount Runciman of Doxford, (10 November 193410 December 2020), usually known informally as Garry Runciman, was a British historical sociologist. A senior research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge Runciman ...

(ed.) ''Hutton and Butler: Lifting the Lid on the Workings of Power'' (British Academy/ Oxford University Press, 2004) * ''The Great Juristic Bazaar: Jurists' Texts and Lawyers' Stories'' (Ashgate, 2003) * ''Globalisation and Legal Theory'' (2000) * ''Karl Llewellyn and the Realist Movement'' (1973, 1985) * ''Analysis of Evidence'' (2nd edition, with Terence Anderson and David Schum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) * ''Rethinking Evidence'' (2nd edition, 2006) * ''Evidence and Inference in History and Law'' (ed. with Iain Hampsher-Monk, Northwestern UP, 2003) ** Legal education and legal scholarship * “The Role of Academics in the Legal System” (UK) in P. Cane and M. Tushnet (eds) ''Oxford Handbook of Legal Studies'' (OUP,2003) pp. 920–29. * ''Law in Context: Enlarging a Discipline'' (1997) * ''Blackstone's Tower: The English Law School'', 1994 Hamlyn Lectures.

References

External links

Twining's page
at UCL {{DEFAULTSORT:Twining, William Academics of University College London 1934 births Living people Philosophers of law