Concerning practice, the functional approach underlies. In the strict sense, it is the theoretical study of legal systems by comparison with each other, and has a tradition going back over a century. The american journal of comparative law oxford academic. Combining a clear and practical explanation of the topics with scientific knowledge, the textbook analyzes the origins and the development of constitutional law in the western world, as well as the structure and transformations of constitutional law, up to the present day. The term legal history records simply the changes which have accrued in the development of law whereas comparative legal history signifies the process of changes in the development of law in various countries.
Pdf legal history and comparative law viola heutger. The second section discusses the histories and functions of comparative criminal law. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and is set in the wider context of social history. However, the bar barian invasions produced a great interest in the laws of the. The conception and design of this course are aimed at. His research interests are european private law, comparative legal history and the history of commercial and insurance law. Pdf this paper will discuss the comparison of islamic legal system, civil law, and common law.
The professorship of comparative law is a chair in law at the university of oxford. In this article, the author argues that comparative tax law has an intellectual history. The essence of comparative law is the act of comparing the law of one country to that of another. Comparative advantage is the ability of one party to manufacture goods andor produce services at a. Written by authorities in their respective fields, the contributions in this accessible book cover and combine not only questions regarding the methodology of comparative law, but also specific areas of law such as administrative law and criminal law. As the official journal of the american society of comparative law, it publishes four issues a year and is devoted to comparative and transnational legal studies including, among other subjects, comparative law, comparative and transnational legal history and theory, private international law and conflict of. The oxford handbook of comparative law by mathias reimann, land grabs in asia. Legal historians have sometimes studied the law of one place and time while disregarding that of others. Some points of comparison introduction the interest of jurists in legal systems other than their own and in comparative law has been a matter of long tradition. Comparative law and legal history oxford handbooks. This should reveal its connections with and its peculiarities within both the development of comparative law and the development of functionalism in other disciplines.
The era of codification also did not improve matters. It is undoubtedly the most extensive and thorough examination of comparative law on the international. A brief history of legal comparison scientific research publishing. The comparative history and theory of corporate criminal. One can speak, of course, of comparative law in a much narrower sense.
Generally, comparative law has been employed as a discipline to understand foreign law and culture. It argues, first, that traditional views of the history of corporate criminal liability in german and angloamerican law are interestingly. Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law legal systems of. First of all, there has been a tendency to view comparative law from the standpoint of its value to the historical study of legal decision makinga consideration that was responsible for establishing the first chairs of comparative law. Legal tradition is a term frequently used in legal history and comparative law. The value utility of comparative law srd law notes. Some comparative lawyers have generally emphasized differences, while others see similarities, particularly in problems and their results, and a third group has sought to strike a balance between observing and analysing similarities and differences. An introduction to the comparative method from the perspective of an american lawyer, focusing on methodology, rather than on substantive matters. Functions of comparative law and practical methodology of comparing. Pdf general principles and comparative law researchgate. A dialogue between comparative law and comparative legal history thomas duve received 27 october 2017. Far from being wholly academic, however, comparative law is a practical approach in the service of 1 legal education 2 the appreciation of treaty implementation and 3 choice of law in the new world of publicprivate international law known as transnational law.
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. In the course of the recent revival of the study of comparative law, repeated attempts have been made to define the nature and province of this branch of the law. The third section discusses selected topics in comparative law, such as punishment theory, victims, jurisdiction, the principle of legality, an analysis of criminal liability, and general principles of criminal liability. The modern history of chinese law is one long exercise in legal comparison and adoption. Comparative law paul norman reference and online services librarian, institute of advanced legal studies what is comparative law. This work placed comparative law in its historical context and was widely read and. Part of thecomparative and foreign law commons, and theinternational law commons this article is brought to you for free and open access by institutional repository. Introduction to the comparative method history and philosophy of the civil law. The history of comparative law 1027 the history of comparative law comparative law, as professor wigmore has said, is a convenient but loose term. It serves to embrace all those studies which, characteristically, do not confine their attention to domestic law. This article argues that legal history and comparative law ought to merge into one discipline.
Comparative law is an unfortunate but generally accepted label for the comparative method of legal study and research which has come to be recognized as the best means of promoting community of thought and interest between the lawyers of different nations and as an invaluable auxiliary to the development and reform of our own and other system of law. It had to wait some centuries until the first comparative law book. Comparative advantage, economic theory, first developed by 19thcentury british economist david ricardo, that attributed the cause and benefits of international trade to the differences in the relative. The origins of modern comparative law can be traced back to gottfried wilhelm leibniz in 1667 in his latinlanguage book nova methodus discendae docendaeque iurisprudentiae new methods of studying and teaching jurisprudence. Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law legal systems of different countries. The first of its kind, this comprehensive encyclopedia on comparative law takes stock of presentday comparative law scholarship. Comparative law is by definition the study of foreign law. What is comparative law definition of comparative law. Advocated as the fourth major approach to legal theory, this model is applied in analysing the historical and conceptual development of hindu law, muslim law, african laws and chinese law. The development of comparative law in modern china by.
It analyses important policy issues in the area of company law, including the emergence and nature of the business corporation, eu company law, incorporation and corporate representation, agency problems in the firm, rights of stakeholders and shareholders, minority shareholder protection in corporate control. Comparative law, as professor wigmore has said, is a. Comparative law and legal history request pdf researchgate. It is comparison of law, not really a field of substantive law. The oxford handbook of the history of international law innovatively and comprehensively provides a timely and ambitious global history of international law. Written by authorities in their respective fields, the contributions in this accessible book cover and combine not only questions regarding the methodology of comparative law, but also specific areas of law such as administrative law and criminal law and specific.
Part iii of this article suggests an approach to studying the traditional chinese property regime, also starting from a study of the historical process of interaction. About the american journal of comparative law oxford academic. An intellectual history of comparative tax law by kim brooks. There are two striking features to the history of this principle, however. The first section of this article describes criminal law s parochialism.
The increasing interest in global perspectives on law and history, the dialectics inherent in globalisation as such, as well as. The civil law common law dichotomy and the aggregation of the civil law into one uniform legal family is also found in, for example, glenn, legal traditions of the world, 2000, or in the international encyclopaedia of comparative law. The third section discusses selected topics in comparative law. Request pdf comparative law and legal history legal historians have sometimes studied the law of one place and time while disregarding that of others. Comparative law legal systems of the world an overview.
Generally, comparative law has been employed as a discipline to understand foreign law. British institute of international and comparative law, formed in 1958 by the merger of the society of comparative legislation 1895 and the grotius society 1915. On comparative law and legal history, see, for example, james gordley, comparative law and legal history in mathias reimann and reinhard zimmermann eds, the oxford handbook of comparative law the oxford handbook of comparative law. The oxford handbook of the history of international law innovatively and comprehensively provides a timely and ambitious global history of international law from the sixteenth century to the midtwentieth century. This paper is an exercise in comparative legal history and theory. The expression comparative law is a modern one, first used in the 19th century when. An introduction to comparative law available for download and read online in other formats. Comparative lawyers have sometimes compared the law of different jurisdictions while ignoring the historical reasons they are alike or unlike. The american journal of comparative law was founded in 1952. Starts with a survey of comparative law, its history, current definition and scope, followed by practical uses of comparative. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, your readings come from handout 1. International encyclopedia of comparative law online. Comparative law and the historical processes of legal interaction. The encyclopedia is the first broad, systematic and international compendium of comparative law.
Methods of comparative law brings to bear new thinking on topics including. In ancient law, there was an intimate relationship between comparative law and historical research. Nobel prizewinning economist paul krugman teaches you the economic theories that drive history, policy, and help explain the world around you. For some writers, this forms part of the definition of comparative law.
Origin and development of comparative law srd law notes. The two disciplines are both products of the same period, the late nineteenth century, when they were formed as the fruit of the rising positivist legal scholarship. There is a traditional list of disciplines to which comparative law has routinely been related. Available online for the first time, the international encyclopedia of comparative law online offers fulltext searching across all archival content published in this renowned reference work over the last three decades. Comparative law is the systematic application of the comparative technique, a discipline and a method by which the values of human life are known and evaluated. Sir henry maine as professor of historical and comparative jurisprudence in. This book discusses the nature and scope of comparative legal inquiries, the relationship of comparative law to other fields of legal study, the aims and historical development of comparative law and the. This massive work represents the labour of hundreds of lawyers and scholars throughout the world.
Course outline and reading assignments for comparative law all reading packets and handouts for this course are posted to the course elearning on canvas page. There is indeed a separate history of chinese comparative. Methods of comparative law research handbooks in comparative law serieselgar original reference pier giuseppe monateri on. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, the book offers concise and lucid surveys of a wide range of issues associated with various subject areas. The expression comparative law is a modern one, first used in the 19th century when it became clear that the comparison of legal institutions deserved a systematic approach, in. To saleilles, the potential of comparative law lay in a legislative common law. Studies in comparative legal history current issues in korean law edited by laurent mayali and john yoo the robbins collection 2014. Comparative formerly treated as excluding historical. Reviews this is a sprawling, engaged and engaging study in comparative. Andrea buratti this innovative textbook provides an introduction into comparative constitutional law to undergraduate and graduate students.
More specifically, the author claims that history reveals there is a distinguishable comparative tax law scholarship where tax scholars engage in common debates. Download pdf an introduction to comparative law book full free. Comparative research can inform projects at early stages, providing fodder and direction for initial design concepts, and in the midst of design iterations when refining content, interaction, and general architectural patterns. On comparative law and legal history, see, for example, james gordley, comparative law and legal history in mathias reimann and reinhard zimmermann eds, the oxford handbook of comparative law the oxford handbook of comparative law, oxford university press 2006 online 2012. It is not a law in itself but a method of looking at legal problem, a comparative approach to the study of laws and legal institutions of two or more countries. Historians have often explained rules which are ubiquitous by the circumstances peculiar to one time and place. The current holder of the chair is birke hacker the chair was founded as the professorship of comparative law in 1948 and was the first chair of comparative law created in the united kingdom.
This innovative textbook provides an introduction into comparative constitutional law to undergraduate and graduate students. In 2015 he has been awarded a european research council erc consolidator grant for a fiveyear project on a comparative history of insurance law in europe. Comparative law and legal traditions historical and. Pdf an introduction to comparative law download full. The oxford handbook of the history of international law oxford university press 2012.
The science of comparative law the cambridge law journal. The origin of comparative law may at the earliest be traced from the middle of the 19th century. Legal formalism is an important category in the history of law, the sociology of law, comparative law, and the cultural study of law, as well as in the philosophy of law and the interdisciplinary field currently. Introduction to the comparative method history and philosophy of the civil law tradition for spring 2020 that will be posted in the course canvas page. Most frequently, the basis for comparison is a foreign law juxtaposed against the measure of ones own law.
But also when no apparent reference is made to historical roots the international and supranational law, will often be interpreted by judges in various countries. Comparative lawyers have sometimes compared the law of different jurisdictions while ignoring the. Starts with a survey of comparative law, its history, current definition and scope, followed by practical uses of comparative legal analysis in united states courts. About ten years later we find sir henry maine himself. The two disciplines are both products of the same period, the late nineteenth century. Devoted to comparative and transnational legal studies including comparative law, transnational legal history and theory, private international law, conflict of laws, and the study of international legal systems this article collection, published in line with the ascl annual meeting, addresses the theme of this years meeting, comparative. It is also used to understand our own culture better through the process of comparison to another culture. Methods of comparative law research handbooks in comparative.
Comparative advantage is an economic term that describes and explains trade between two countries. Where has the comparative researcher to look for in foreign legal systems. Combining a clear and practical explanation of the topics with scientific. Institute of european and comparative law, university of oxford.
Introduction and objectives law nujs kolkata wb national. The increasing interest in global perspectives on law and history, the. This section contains free ebooks and guides on law books, some of the resources in this section can be viewed online and some of them can be downloaded. Saleilles perspective was practical while lamberts was intellectual. The expression comparative law is a modern one, first used in the 19th century when it became clear that the comparison of legal institutions deserved a systematic approach, in order to increase understanding of foreign cultures and to further legal progress. Comparative law is not a body of rules and principles. Comparative law, examination of comparative legal systems and of the relationships of the law to the social sciences.
As we reassess the methodology of comparative law, we need also to reassess the purposes and missions served by comparative law. It is usually necessary to examine several court cases decided over time to understand the common law. Legal historiography and the revolt against formalism, 193060. It is ironic therefore that our first selection, written only two years later, should be entitled, the history of comparative jurisprudence pollock 1903. The civil lawcommon law dichotomy and the aggregation of the civil law into one uniform legal family is also found in, for example, glenn, legal traditions of the world, 2000, or in the international encyclopaedia of comparative law. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems or families in existence in the world, including the common law, the civil law, socialist law, canon law, jewish law, islamic law, hindu law, and chinese law. This book provides an exposition of company law from a comparative perspective.
792 1436 19 1007 98 1543 204 1027 287 117 1248 1520 1465 1172 146 747 805 966 1098 608 1365 1487 1319 1315 117 976 867 545 1384 224 39 595 725 394 37 156 1356