SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Inspired by the writings of the celebrant, this chapter identifies a significant climate change in the plurality-conscious theorising of ‘law’ worldwide, observing growing readiness to accept various illustrations of the internal plurality of ‘law’. How one depicts this, and to what extent any theoretical contribution may account for the constant dynamism of legal development will probably occupy legal scholars for many years to come. Later parts of this chapter, based on awareness of the internal diversity of law and the practical implications of the observed climate changes in comparative law globally, analyse recent path-breaking developments in the Indian legal system’s skilful handling of the deeply contested problem of maintenance for divorced wives. It shows how non-Western legal systems may be much more astute than we imagine in the navigation of such difficult issues, which involve inter alia judicial interpretation of Muslim law principles within a secular democratic Republic.