Accessible and clearly structured, this is the first book to include examinations of public and private law in the discussion about access to foreign laws. With commentaries by an international collection of leading judges in the field, it looks at the practice in a range of countries spread across the globe.

In jurisprudence an exchange of ideas is essential, as there is no monopoly of wisdom. Legal convergence is particularly beneficial to both public law, as constitution building is done in so many parts of the world, and to commercial law, where enhanced communication, trade and information mean that people have to work more closely together. This book:

• examines the theme of judicial mentality and how it helps or hinders recourse to foreign ideas
• raises and addresses the dangers that accompany comparative law and judicial creativity
• looks at the practice in America, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, South Africa and atthe European Court of Justice.

Ideal for practitioners and academics, it is an essential read for those working in or studying jurisprudence at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

This book began life as the Eason Weinmann Lecture delivered by Sir Basil Markesinis at the Tulane Law School in March 2005 under the title The Judge as Comparatist. Covering for the first time private as well as public law, Judicial Recourse to Foreign Law analyses in great detail court decisions from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, South Africa, Canada, and the European Union in order to determine the approach judges follow in the use of comparative law. Drawing on this material, the authors seek to find common ground between radically differing views about the desirability of judicial discourse across national borders and present a methodological framework within which foreign law can make a meaningful contribution to the world of legal practice. The book includes commentaries by Laurie Ackermann (formerly Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa), President Aharon Barak (Supreme Court of Israel), Professor Dr Brun-Otto Bryde (German Federal Constitutional Court), M. Kentridge KCMG, QC, Professor Christos Rozakis (Vice President, European Court on Human Rights), and Judge Konrad Schiemann (European Court of Justice).