Comparative Legal Traditions: Second Edition, Essentials of American Law

Author: (American) Gragston
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Comparative Legal Traditions is a concise reading material for comparative law courses in American law schools. The book selects several important legal systems in the West from the perspective of the practical needs and academic interests of American lawyers, offering in-depth yet accessible discussions and comparisons. This is the second edition from 1999, divided into four parts: "Introduction to Comparative Legal Studies," "Civil Law Tradition," "Common Law Tradition," and "European Supranational Law and Institutions." Compared to their counterparts in European countries and developing countries, the American legal community shows relatively insufficient emphasis on comparative law. In the introduction, the author first reflects on this issue, analyzes the reasons, and discusses the significance, purpose, and utility of comparative law within this context. In terms of research methodology, the author emphasizes the importance of functionalism and contextualism and discusses the concept of "legal tradition." Here, the term "tradition" refers not to a fixed past but to a dynamic and vibrant system that has been shaped by long historical accumulation and remains relevant today. Naming the book Comparative Legal Traditions rather than Comparative Law reflects the author's stance advocating for a focus on legal system studies beyond positive law.
After the introduction, the author dedicates four-fifths of the book to introducing the two major legal traditions in the West: the Civil Law Tradition and the Common Law Tradition, which are more commonly referred to as the civil law system and the common law system. The book explores the historical origins, cultural backgrounds, dissemination, organizational structures, professional groups, legal procedures, sources of law, and branches of these two traditions. However, it is worth noting that the discussion of the Common Law Tradition primarily focuses on English law. American law, though an important branch of the common law system, is not systematically introduced but rather appears as a backdrop and is only occasionally mentioned in the book's discussions of other legal traditions. This reflects the book's American perspective, which Chinese readers should be aware of.
In the 1982 edition, the author had included the Socialist Legal Tradition alongside Civil Law and Common Law as one of the three major legal traditions of Western civilization, with equal coverage. A significant change in the second edition was the removal of this section in response to social changes and the demands of the times, replaced by a brief introduction to the European Union legal system and the European human rights protection mechanism, covering their history, objectives, institutions, and scope.
The book has three authors, two of whom also contributed to the 1982 edition. Mary A. Gragston is a professor at Harvard Law School and a renowned scholar with extensive writings in comparative law, constitutional law, human rights, and legal philosophy. Her major works include Rights Talk (1991), A Nation Under Lawyers (1994), and A World Made New (2001). She graduated from the University of Chicago Law School, earning a Juris Doctor (JD) degree in 1961 and a Master of Comparative Law degree in 1963. Gragston was one of the three authors of the 1982 edition, serving as a professor at Boston College Law School at the time. The other author is Michael W. Gordon, a professor at the University of Florida Law School, specializing in comparative law, corporate law, and international commercial law. He graduated from the University of Connecticut Law School in 1963 with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B., an older term for JD). Gordon was also an author of the 1982 edition.
The relatively younger author is Paul G. Carozzi, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1989 with a JD degree and is now an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School. His main research areas include international law, international human rights, legal systems of Europe and Latin America, comparative law, and legal philosophy.
The book is well-structured, comprehensive in content, and concise in language, making it an excellent resource for Chinese readers to understand Western legal traditions and learn legal English.