Customer Reviews

Comparative Legal Traditions in a Nutshell (2nd Ed) (In a Nutshell (West Publishing))

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The first section on civil law tradition is good. It provides a sense of the complexity of history from Justinian to the great 19c civil codes of France and Germany and their areas of influence in Latin America etc, along with what these countries' systems have in common, and the convergence with Anglo notions in 20c. The essense of civil law seems here to be a certain formalism, emphasizing private law conceived in 3 parts (persons, property, contract) and downplaying the state, dating back to Institutes.

The common law section was much less useful to me -- it's a different conception, primarily about the peculiarities of practicing law in England today. The third section is about the attempt to create a unified jurisprudence of Europe; I didn't read it.

The title of this book is a misnomer. It only covers comparative legal traditions in modern Europe - i.e., common and civil law. It doesn't cover, for example, communist, Chinese, Islamic, or tribal legal traditions. That being said, it provides a very useful background on common and civil law and makes a point of highlight contrasts.

For a more in-depth discussion of the origins of these traditions (as well as Chinese and Islamic law), read Martin Shapiro's Courts: A Comparative and Political Analysis.

Great book at a great price! Much better than paying full price elsewhere. I received it super fast. Thanks Amazon!

The book was in the described condition but I never received an email stating the book had been shipped and I was charged for the book almost a month after it was ordered.