This seminar presents empirical data that explores how Wikipedia’s editors reject the law while replicating law-like structures for the governance of their network. However, they reflexively talk about and use these structures in ways that do not allow “law” to interfere with their larger collective project. Additionally, on closer examination and in practice, the law they are trying to avoid often works – and is talked about – in ways that are very similar to their own law-like structures.

About the speaker

Florian Grisel is Associate Professor at the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies. Prior to joining Oxford, he was Deputy Director of the Centre de théorie et analyse du droit (the Centre for Legal Theory and Analysis) at Paris Nanterre University.

Florian’s research focuses on private governance, fisheries management, legal globalisation, and the sociology of law. He was awarded the Alexandre Varenne Prize (Legal Theory) in 2011 and the Médaille de Bronze of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique in 2018. Who’s Who Legal ranked him as a Future Leader in International Arbitration in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Florian holds degrees from Sciences Po Paris, Columbia University, Yale Law School, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the Ecole Normale Supérieure.