ABSTRACT
The law is usually described, by legal professionals and by the general public, as something that is detached and separated from its cultural context (Post 1991, p. vii). The main currents of legal theory marginalize culture by either treating it as an extraneous domain detached from the law or by simply omitting discussion of it. As Mezey (2003, p. 37) points out, ‘most visions of law include culture, if they include it at all, as the unavoidable social context of an otherwise legal question – the element of irrationality or the basis of policy conflicts’. This image is reinforced in popular culture narratives that show the law as a source of timeless wisdom or as something that only affects people in extreme
situations, such as during criminal proceedings (MacNeil 2007). However, the law has deep cultural significance. It affects and is affected by the culture or cultures of those who are governed by the law. This is especially true when the law deals with issues of fundamental rights for members of minority groups.
