obligation will therefore be no law at all. Judicial interpretation Crowe's work on judicial interpretation is critical of originalism. He argues that judges should give legal documents their ordinary contemporary meaning, rather than the meaning they held when first enacted. This is necessary to preserve law's function as a means of social coordination. Crowe argues that judges should interpret laws in light of social practices and institutions, relying on ‘historically extended narratives’. He terms this theory ‘wide contextualism’. He further contends that, where the law is unjust, judges should bring it into dialogue with moral values to reach a practically reasonable outcome. Political philosophy Crowe challenges the traditional focus of natural law theory on state institutions. He highlights the important role of non-state forms of order, such as evolved social norms and practices, in securing the common good. Crowe argues that justice is best understood as the outcome of ethical relations between embodied persons, rather than as a set of idealised institutions imposed on society from above. He describes this idea as ‘small justice’. He criticises competing theories of justice, such as that of John Rawls, for neglecting the role of interpersonal interactions in ensuring justice at a societal level. Existentialism Crowe's work on legal and ethical theory is influenced by existentialism, particularly the writings of Emmanuel Levinas. His doctoral thesis examined the intersections between existentialist ethics and natural law theory. Crowe draws attention to the important role of time in Levinas's writings. He argues that the temporal (or diachronic) dimension of Levinas's theory bridges the gap between his ethics and his political philosophy. Mediation ethics In collaborative work with Rachael Field, Crowe has argued for a new understanding of the ethics of mediation. Traditional views of mediation ethics focus on mediator neutrality or impartiality. However, Field and Crowe contend these notions are unhelpful and unrealistic when applied to mediation practice. Instead, they propose a new ethical paradigm centred on party self-determination. This approach is supported by ‘a focus on informed consent and an ethos of professionalism’. Field and Crowe defend a contextual ethical method as the most suitable way of resolving ethical dilemmas in mediation practice. Advocacy Crowe is a founding co-director with Rachael Burgin and Saxon Mullins of Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy (RASARA), an Australia-wide organisation working to shape community responses to sexual violence. The organisation describes itself as ‘survivor-focused’, ‘evidence-based’ and ‘reform-oriented’. He is