Methodology as Application of Thoughts School to Concrete Situations in International Law

Document Type : academic

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran; Judge at Iran-US Claims Tribunal; Tilburg University Guest Professor, The Hague

2 Ph.D. in International Law, Shahid Beheshti University

Abstract

Research in international law is mixed with stereotypes and dogmatic beliefs that seem obvious to the researcher. Methodology is a tool for consciously choosing a scientific framework of thinking and presenting authentic reasoning within the framework. Methodology as application of thought school to concrete situations is one of the conceptual implications of methodology that is almost unknown in Iranian academic literature. In this article, following the explanation of the classical perceptions of methodology, the content and advantages of methodology as the application of school are explained. It is hoped that this article provides a basis for encouraging Iranian scholars to adopt thought school methodological approaches in their legal researches. Furthermore, based on a statistical study regarding the dissertations of Ph.D. students of Tehran public universities, it will be argued that even in the best legal researches in Iran, no proper attention has been paid to the methodological issues.

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