As a fundamental institution of human societies, law is a deeply influential factor in individual and social activity. Yet its normative status is controversial, particularly in pluralistic, secularized societies. Is law essentially the result of legislative creation and juridical interpretation, or can and should it reflect ethical values and imperatives? If it can what are the sources of those imperatives, and how do they achieve the necessary degree of social consensus in religiously diverse societies that are increasingly globalized and globalizing as a consequence of culture, commerce, communication and immigration?

The Global Ethic and Law: Intersections and Interactions contributes to the consideration of these questions. Its contributors include academics from the U.S.A. and Europe, as well Hans Kueng, the author of the 1993 “Declaration Towards a Global Ethic” adopted by the Parliament of World Religions and Stephan Schlensog, General Secretary of the Global Ethic Foundation of Tuebingen, Germany.