Researching Civil Remedies for International Corruption: The Choice of the Functional Comparative Method

This paper motivates the choice of the functional comparative method to research the issue of civil remedies for international corruption. It shows how the social, economic and political factors that have shaped the normative context of the research question point to the functional comparative method as an appropriate methodology. The paper suggests that this method of legal research is able to meet the challenges inherent in the cross-cultural analysis required in the case of issues with an international dimension. The paper also argues that the use of the functional comparative method provides a perspective on the larger issue of rule making in a globalised world, by providing an element of predictability in the search for ‘common rules’ of interaction. Furthermore, the functional comparison of responses of legal systems to the question of civil remedies for international corruption provides a window on the possibilities that exist for legal reform and development.