This book presents an original, deliberately controversial, and, at times, disturbing appraisal of the state of comparative law at the beginning of the 21st century. Looking at the weaknesses, strengths, and protagonists (most of whom were personally known to the author) of comparative law during the preceding thirty-five years, the book is a reminder of the unique opportunities the subject has in our shrinking world. The author brings to bear his experience of thirty-five years as a teacher of the subject to criticize the impact the long association with Roman law has had on the orientation and well-being of his subject. With equal force, he also warns against some modern trends linking it with variations of the critical legal studies movement, and he urges the study of foreign law in a way that can make it more attractive to practitioners and more usable by judges. This monograph represents a passionate call for greater intellectual cooperation. It offers one way of achieving it - a cooperation between practitioners and academics on the one hand and between Common and (modern) Civilian lawyers on the other, in an attempt to save the subject from the marginalization it suffered in the 1980s and from which the globalization movement of the 21st century may be about to deliver it.

"Europe" is one of the defining issues of our times. Politically, economically, legally, culturally, it is a source of division to some and inspiration for others. This book contains essays written by eminent authors to celebrate the Centenary of the British Academy, the country's leading academic institution for Social Sciences and the Humanities. Their central theme is "Britain's Contribution to the Europe of the Twenty-First Century" and it is approached in an inter-disciplinary way from the different angles of law, politics, economics and the humanities. Contributors: Guido Alpa; Stephen Bann FBA; Vernon Bogdanor CBE, FRSA, FBA; Keith Clark, BCL; Kenneth Dyson FBA, FRHS; David Edward CMG, FRSE; Sir John Elliott, FBA, AAAS; Laurent Fabius; The Rt. Hon. Frank Field MP; Sir Roy Goode QC, CBE, FBA; The Rt. Hon. The Lord Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE; Giorgio La Malfa; Noelle Lenoir; Nicholas Mann CBE; Basil Markesinis QC, DCL, FBA; Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve, DBE, FBA; The Rt. Hon. The Lord Woolf of Barnes.

This selection of essays by the leading comparative lawyer, Basil Markesinis, provides a compilation of his most stimulating and authoritative work. It brings together for the first time writings which capture the essence of his pioneering approach to comparative law. The essays are of particular interest to those engaged in the study of the law of obligations; scholars will find here a discussion of broad intellectual and theoretical issues pertaining to this field. These issues are highlighted in the introductory chapter. This work is a tour de force of comparative law scholarship and should be read and kept close at hand by every comparatist.

Federalism remains a highly contentious issue in the United Kingdom, but however suspect the 'F' word may be, a substantial amount of devolution has already become part of the local landscape and more may yet follow. With the competence for a number of policies thus shifting from Westminster to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and in future perhaps even within England itself, foreign experience with federal and regional structures becomes a valuable source of ideas. In a series of contributions, distinguished experts from a wide range of legal systems including Canada, the United States, Germany, South Africa and the European Union present their experience, criticisms, and views concerning, inter alia, the distribution of power, judicial review and human rights protection in federalised and regionalised states. The book contains the papers from a conference jointly organised by the Institute of Global Law (UCL) and the Institute of Transnational Law (The University of Texas at Austin).

Following the successful publication of his first volume4 of essays intitled FOREIGN LAW AND COMPARATIVE METHODOLOGY professor Markesinis continues his quest for the best way of presenting foreign law to Common law readers. This second volume thus contains essays on methodology: the horizontal application of human rights; the tortious liability of statutory bodies; the growing impact of human rights law on our law of torts; the differing approaches to problems raised by action for wrongful life and wrongful birth; differing judicial styles and what they can tell us about a foreign system, as well as the growing use of foreign law by British judges in their judicial and extra judicial work. These essays, along with their rich bibliographical references, will provide much food for thought to practitioners in these above-mentioned areas of the law as well as teadhers and researchers in the fields of public law, foreign law and legal methodology.

What makes a great book? If the determining factors are the content,authorship and timing of publication then this collection of essays from some of Europe's most eminent judges and jurists satisfies all three criteria. Readers will here find the expanded versions of the speeches given at a one-day conference in London to mark, from a legal point of view, the beginning of the new millennium. In a thoughtful and predominantly comparative manner the distinguished speakers explore the cross fertilisation of ideas that is taking place between the Common and Civil law systems in such important topics as human rights, commercial law, and comparative methodology. The contributors include Lords Irvine, Bingham, Woolf, Steyn, and Goff, the President of the Court of the European Communities, Dr Iglesias, the President of the Court of Human Rights, Dr Wildhaber, the President of the German Constitutional Court, Professor Limbach, Justices Lenoir and Mirabelli, respectively of the French and Italian Constitutional Courts, the Professor Walter van Gerven, former Advocate General of the Court of the European Communities, Professor Klaus Hopt, co-Director of the Max-Planck Institute of Hamburg, Professor Christian von Bar, Director of the Institute of Comparative Law at the University of Osnabruck and the organiser of the conference, Professor Basil Markesinis, Director of the Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law. The book commences with a Foreword by Keith Clark, Senior Partner of the multinational law firm, Clifford Chance, who have sponsored the conference. This is a unique book about legal practice in the increasingly integrated world of tomorrow.

In a number of important decisions such as Stovin v. Wise, X v. Bedforshire, Barrett v. Enfield London Borough Council and others, English courts have been forced to grapple with the important issue of tortious liability of statutory bodies. Following the Hill decision, they opted for a wide non-liability rule on a variety of policy and economic efficiency grounds. Yet many of their arguments have been considered and rejected by both German and French courts when deciding factually equivalent situations.

This study analyses five leading English cases in a comparative and economic way and questions the validity of their assumptions as well as their arguments in the light of the recent important decision of the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights in Osman v. UK.

This thought-provoking book, written by two English academics from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, in collaboration with two leading authorities from the Universities of Paris and Munich, should provide food for thought for judges, practitioners, academics and students for years to come.

This book will be essential reading for scholars and practitioners interested in public law, human rights, comparative methodology, and tort law.

"This new edition of An Outline of the Law of Agency by Markesinis and Munday will enable students to acquire a sound and critical understanding of the law of agency by providing a succinct, readable account of this significant and intellectually challenging branch of law.Among the many notable legal developments in this area of law since the publication of the third edition six years ago, which have been fully noted in this edition, are the entry into force in 1994 of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, the appearance of the first English case law on this distinctive european directive, and judicial extension of such concepts as 'apparent authority' and 'warranty of authority'.An Outline of the Law of Agency aims to complement existing standard works of reference. It can stand both on its own as an independent self-contained textbook where greater emphasis is laid upon principles than upon matters of technical detail, and also as an introductory book preparing the way for more detailed study of the subject. The combination of text and materials will offer students a general introduction to the subject which is stimulating, but above all, clear and concise."

Since its first appearance in 1986, this magisterial work has won uniform praise from many of the world's leading comparatists. It has been acclaimed by senior judges and has been cited by the courts of many countries. This new, substantially rewritten and systematically updated fifth edition of the work, contains over 95 leading judgments, most translated in their entirety, along with references to over 2,000 other decisions from Germany and the common law world. While the book remains an ideal tool for teaching comparative torts and comparative methodology, the fact that it has been extensively rewritten makes it an indispensable source of inspiration for those with a professional interest in tort litigation and tort law reform. This edition has paid particular attention to liability for internet activity, medical liability and the protection of personality rights and private life.

This book is about foreign law the law of a country other than that of the 'national' lawyer and how to engage with it. There are many reasons for engaging with and understanding foreign law. For instance, local law may be underdeveloped, unclear, or deficient, and recourse to foreign law may help strengthen the conviction that change is needed, and even suggest what form it should take. This book shows how to analyze foreign ideas, concepts, and institutions, and then it explains how to 'package' or 're-package' them so as to make the material usable in one's own national context. Engaging with Foreign Law is about legal methodology more particularly, comparative methodology as well as substantive foreign law, and it goes a step further than most comparative law works both in terms of content and philosophy. The authors also provide personal impressions and background about the subject and its protagonists, demonstrating to the reader how much comparative law has developed and changed during the last forty years. Engaging with Foreign Law will inform and provoke in equal measure, and will also prove fun to use in the legal classroom setting.

Recently the contract section of the German Civil Code was amended after one hundred years of un-altered existence. The German Law of Contract, radically recast, enlarged, and re-written since its first edition, now details and explains for the first time these changes for the benefit of Anglophone lawyers. One hundred and twenty translated contract decisions also make this work a unique source-book for students, academics, and practitioners. Along with its companion volume, The German Law of Torts, the two volumes provide one of the fullest accounts of the German Law of Obligations available in the English language. Through its method of presentation of German law, the book represents an original contribution to the art of comparison. An additional feature of the Contract volume is the way in which it reveals the growing impact which European Directives are having upon the traditional, liberal, contract model, thereby bringing German and English law closer to each other, especially in the area of consumer protection.

This book presents an original, deliberately controversial and, at times, disturbing appraisal of the state of comparative law at the beginning of the 21st century: its weaknesses, its strengths, and its protagonists (most of whom were personally known to the author) during the preceding thirty-five years. It is also a reminder of the unique opportunities the subject has in our shrinking world. The author brings to bear his experience of thirty-five years as a teacher of the subject to criticise the impact the long association with Roman law has had on the orientation and well being of his subject. With equal force, he also warns against some modern trends linking it with variations of the critical legal studies movement, and urges the study of foreign law in a way that can make it more attractive to practitioners and more usable by judges. At the end of the day, this monograph represents a passionate call for greater intellectual co-operation and offers one way of achieving it. A co-operation between practitioners and academics on the one hand and between Common and (modern) Civilian lawyers on the other, in an attempt to save the subject from the marginalisation it suffered in the 1980s and from which the globalisation movement of the 21st century may be about to deliver it. "This is an amusing, stimulating, and sometimes controversial work by an outstanding scholar. Professor Markesinis's book is clear, well documented and displays great learning...There is no room for doubt that he has written an illuminating and sometimes provocative book, which will be found very rewarding by the large majority of those who purchase it." Frank Wooldridge, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, January 2004

Since its first appearance in 1986, this magisterial work has won uniform praise from many of the world's leading comparatists. It has been acclaimed by senior judges and has been cited by the courts of many countries. This new, substantially rewritten and systematically updated fifth edition of the work, contains over 95 leading judgments, most translated in their entirety, along with references to over 2,000 other decisions from Germany and the common law world. While the book remains an ideal tool for teaching comparative torts and comparative methodology, the fact that it has been extensively rewritten makes it an indispensable source of inspiration for those with a professional interest in tort litigation and tort law reform. This edition has paid particular attention to liability for internet activity, medical liability and the protection of personality rights and private life.

Recently the contract section of the German Code was radically amended after one hundred years of un-altered existence. "The German Law of Contract", radically recast, enlarged, and re-written, now details and explains for the first time these changes for the benefit of Anglophone lawyers. Along with its companion work, 'The German Law of Torts", the two volumes provide, in a total of some 2,000 pages, one of the fullest accounts of the German Law of Obligations available in the English (or German) language. One hundred and twenty translated contract decisions make this work a unique source-book for students, practitioners, judges and academics wishing to have access to prime sources. Through its method of presentation of German law, the book also represents an original contribution to the art of comparison. An additional feature of the Contract volume is the way in which it reveals the growing impact which European Directives are having on the traditional, liberal, contract model, thereby bringing German and English law closer to each other, especially in the area of consumer protection. The book will be of use to law students reading contracts and comparative law, practitioners, judges and businessmen.