Comparative Legal Traditions [Second Edition]

Author: (American) Grenne, (American) Gordon, (American) Carroz
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Comparative Legal Traditions is a concise reader for comparative law courses in American law schools. Based on the practical needs and academic interests of American lawyers, the book selects several important legal systems in the West and provides 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 nations, the American legal community has relatively insufficient emphasis on comparative law. In the introduction, the authors first reflect on this issue, analyze the reasons, and discuss the significance, purpose, and utility of comparative law within this context. In terms of methodology, the authors emphasize the importance of functionalism and contextualism and explore 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. The title "Comparative Legal Traditions" rather than "Comparative Law" reflects the authors' stance of moving beyond positive law to focus on the study of legal systems. After the introduction, the authors devote 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 we more commonly refer to as the Civil Law System and the Common Law System. The book sequentially explores the historical origins, cultural backgrounds, spread and distribution, organizational structures, professional groups, legal procedures, sources of law, and branches of these two major traditions. However, it is worth noting that the discussion of the Common Law Tradition in this book primarily focuses on English law. While American law is also a significant branch of the Common Law System, it is not systematically introduced but rather appears as a backdrop and is occasionally mentioned within 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 authors included the Socialist Legal Tradition alongside Civil and Common Law as one of the three major legal traditions of Western civilization, introducing it with the same level of detail. One significant change in the second edition is the removal of this section, replaced by an introduction to the European Union legal system and the European human rights protection mechanism, briefly covering their history, objectives, institutions, and scope. The book has three authors, two of whom also contributed to the 1982 edition. Mary A. Grenne is a professor at Harvard Law School, a renowned scholar, and has written extensively in the fields of comparative law, constitutional law, human rights, and legal philosophy. Her notable 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 her Juris Doctor (JD) degree in 1961 and a Master of Comparative Law in 1963. Grenne 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, earning his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B., the old name for Juris Doctor). Gordon was also an author of the 1982 edition. The relatively younger author is Paul G. Carroz, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1989 with a Juris Doctor (JD) degree and is currently an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School. His main research areas include international law, international human rights, European and Latin American legal systems, 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.