From the preface: Over the past ten or twenty years, the discipline of comparative law has been revitalized and has made considerable progress. It has faced new tasks and challenges, arising mainly from the Europeanization of law and, more broadly, the globalizing trends in contemporary life. It has been subjected to close scrutiny from a variety of perspectives, especially in Europe and the United States. It has lost its methodological innocence as scholars began to ask hard questions about traditional approaches, such as the functional method. It has engaged in interdisciplinary discourse with history, sociology, economics, anthropology, and other fields. As a result, comparative law has become a vibrant and intellectually stimulating field of study and research and it has advanced our knowledge in a variety of areas and contexts. At the same time, it has often been noted that there is no comprehensive account of the ‘state of the art’ of the discipline." Edited by Mathias Reimann und Reinhard Zimmermann, The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law undertakes to provide such an account.

More than 40 scholars from 12 different countries across four continents have through their contributions participated in the completion of this work.

 

Overview of the Contents of the Work

The work's three parts are preceded by an analysis of comparative law avant la letre. This historical introduction shows that even before the emergence of the modern discipline of comparative law there have, of course, been comparisons of different legal systems.  In fact, traces of a comparative approach can be found as far back as Ancient Greek constitutional philosophy. Charles Donahue traces these beginnings up to the time of the Code Napoléon in an introductory essay.

 

Part I: Historical Development of Comparative Law

Part I assesses the development of modern comparative law in a number of different countries and regions of the world. According to a widely held view, the discipline in its current form is of relatively recent origin. It evolved in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, that is, in an age which was characterized by the nationalization of law and legal discourse. Even though modern comparative law served to counteract legal nationalism, it was also, to some extent, affected by it: for the discipline developed differently in different legal systems, or legal families. The Oxford Handbook's treatment of historical developments does not limit itself to the legal systems which traditionally are the subject of greatest interest, e.g. the French, German or U.S. legal systems; among others, regions included are Eastern Europe, Latin America and East Asia.

 

Part II: Methods, Goals and the Relation of Comparative Law to Other Disciplines

Part II forms, in a way, the core of the book. Its chapters look at comparative law more broadly, that is, as an intellectual enterprise. What do lawyers do when they say they engage in comparisons? What methods and approaches do they adopt? Does comparison (have to) focus on similarity or difference? Is it plausible to distinguish different legal families, or legal traditions? Does comparative law essentially amount to the study of transplants and receptions? What can we learn from the experience of 'mixed legal systems'? What are the practical tasks of comparative law? Which challenges does the discipline face as a result of the process of globalization? How does comparative law relate to other disciplines and to other phenomena such as religion, culture and society? To what extent can it be described, or should it be turned into, an interdisciplinary exercise?

 

Part III: Comparative Law in Individual Legal Fields

Part III focuses on important individual branches of the law in which comparative studies have borne at least some fruit. The individual chapters assembled here are supposed to summarize the state of the art in their respective fields. What important comparative work has been done? When, where and why has that work been performed? What have these studies been able to achieve? What does the map of the law look like in that subject matter-area? Where do we find similarity or difference? What are the specific difficulties facing scholars working comparatively in the respective area? Are there any particular contexts within that field where comparative scholarship is likely to be of greater benefit than in others? Are there important, and perhaps even urgent, tasks waiting to be tackled by comparative legal scholarship? Thus, what will the agenda for the discipline be in the foreseeable future? Treated in detail are the central areas of civil and public law, but also for example the law of procedure and private international law.

Content:
Introduction
Comparative Law before the Code Napoléon, Charles Donahue, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Part I: The Development of Comparative Law in the World
1. Development of Comparative Law in France: Bénédicte Fauvarque-Cosson, Paris
2. Development of Comparative Law in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria: Ingeborg Schwenzer, Basel
3. Development of Comparative Law in Italy: Elisabetta Grande, Alessandria
4. Development of Comparative Law in Great Britain: John W. Cairns, Edinburgh
5. Development of Comparative Law in the United States: David S. Clark, Salem, Oregon
6. Development of Comparative Law in Eastern Europe: Zdenek Kühn, Prag
7. Development of Comparative Law in East Asia: Zentaro Kitagawa, Kyoto
8. Development of Comparative Law in Latin America: Jan Kleinheisterkamp, Paris

Part II: Approaches to Comparative Law
9. Comparative Law Within the Field of Comparative Disciplines: Nils Jansen, Münster
10. The Functional Method of Comparative Law: Ralf Michaels, Durham, North Carolina
11. Comparative Law: Study of Similarities or Differences? Gerhard Dannemann, Berlin
12. Comparative Legal Families and Comparative Legal Traditions: H. Patrick Glenn, Montreal
13. Comparative Law as the Study of Transplants and Receptions: Michele Graziadei, Alessandria
14. Comparative Law and the Study of Mixed Legal Systems: Jacques du Plessis, Stellenbosch
15. Comparative Law and its Influence on National Legal Systems: Jan M. Smits, Maastricht
16. Comparative Law and the Europeanization of Private Law: Reinhard Zimmermann, Hamburg
17. Comparative Law and the Process of Globalization: Horatia Muir Watt, Paris
18. Comparative Law and the Islamic Legal Culture: Chibli Mallat, Beirut
19. Comparative Law and African Customary Law: Tom W. Bennett, Cape Town
20. Comparative Law and Language: Vivian G. Curran, Pittsburgh
21. Comparative Law and Legal Culture: Roger Cotterrell, London
22. Comparative Law and Religion: Harold J. Berman, Atlanta, Georgia
23. Comparative Law and Legal History: James Gordley, Berkeley
24. Comparative Law and Socio-Legal Studies: Annelise Riles, Cornell
25. Comparative Law and Critical Legal Studies: Ugo Mattei, Turin
26. Comparative Law and Economic Analysis of Law: Florian Faust, Hamburg

Part III: Subject Areas
27. Sources of Law and Legal Method in Comparative Law: Stefan Vogenauer, Oxford
28. Comparative Contract Law: E. Alan Farnsworth, New York
29. Comparative Sales Law: Peter Huber, Mainz
30. Unjustified Enrichment in Comparative Perspective: Daniel Visser, Cape Town
31. Comparative Tort Law: Gerhard Wagner, Bonn
32. Comparative Property Law: Sjef van Erp, Maastricht
33. Comparative Succession Law: Marius J. de Waal, Stellenbosch
34. Comparative Family Law: Harry D. Krause, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
35. Comparative Labour Law: Matthew W. Finkin, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
36. Comparative Company Law: Klaus J. Hopt, Hamburg
37. Comparative Antitrust Law: David J. Gerber, Chicago, Illinois
38. Comparative Constitutional Law: Mark Tushnet, Cambridge, Massachusetts
39. Comparative Administrative Law: John S. Bell, Cambridge
40. Comparative Criminal Law: Markus D. Dubber, SUNY-Buffalo
41. Comparative Civil Procedure: Joachim Zekoll, New Orleans, Louisiana
42. Comparative Law and Private International Law: Mathias Reimann, Ann Arbor, Michigan