He views himself as the eclectic disciple of a number of twentieth century 'maverick thinkers'.[31] He draws on the encyclopaedic, articulate understanding of society by French banker and sociologist Robert Fossaert;[32] the conceptualisation of the courts' role in society in the works of John Hart Ely and the American constitutional tradition,[33] the progressive humanism of Lebanese leader Kamal Jumblat; the aggiornamento of the Islamic legal tradition by the Iraqi Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr; and Gilles Deleuze's creative, multi-layered philosophy.