A Pragmatic Approach to Global Law

Benoit Frydman proposes a pragmatic methodology for understanding global law by moving beyond the abstract question of whether global law "exists" to analyzing the concrete emergence of new regulatory forms from transnational relations and globalized governance. Rather than grounding his approach in pre-existing theory, Frydman and the Perelman Centre conduct empirical field studies of sectors particularly affected by globalization—including internet regulation, climate change, corporate social responsibility, human rights transnational litigation, and financial regulation—to identify and conceptualize "Unidentified Normative Objects" (UNOs), regulatory devices whose legal character is uncertain but which produce regulatory effects. Through detailed case studies and examination of technical standards, Frydman demonstrates that global law operates through hybrid arrangements combining private norms, public rules, and technological constraints, functioning analogously to technical standards in their drafting through expert consensus, voluntary adoption, and gradual improvement mechanisms.